


Playing With Fire

by whalesfloatinginthesky



Series: Playing With Fire [1]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: :"), Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, Hope you guys like it!, M/M, VictUuri, au!, even though it's plain and boring LOL, fantasy (?), i quite like the plot, it's kinda like a fairy tale if you think about it, royal AU!, somewhere in between maybe, victuuri fan fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-09
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-10-16 15:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10574433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whalesfloatinginthesky/pseuds/whalesfloatinginthesky
Summary: He wanted to find some herbs by the forest across the border but he had no idea what to do when he found a prince who was more focused on surprising himself than anyone else. Destiny offered him two choices to save them both: burn him alive or fall in love with him. There was no in between.





	1. The Glimmer Of Silver

“Thank you for coming, anyway!”He grinned. His chocolate brown eyes glimmered like a firefly on a summer night, as it glided along ponds for excitement and thrill. His fingers combed through his hair, brushing aside silvery beads of sweat hanging off the tips of it. A bright smile graced on his face as he sent one of the older ladies off with a curt wave. His skin was pale and appeared to resemble thin sheets of clouds, since he found his little shop comforting. He strolled around in the tight corners of his shop, holding three big boxes of herbs in each arm. Desperately, he organized everything by alphabets, ignoring the itch of the summer heat crippling up on him.

This year’s summer vacation was definitely going to be a hit in the books.

The air conditioner was blasting hot air into his face, causing him to clamp his eyes shut. Feeling like he had the desert in the palm of his hand never helped him. His footsteps heavy; each breath he took was hasty. He moved like a robot and his hands were full. His head was full of thoughts, from medicines to the most exquisite of toxins. When the chain pulled him down, he refused to stop running. He took one glass jar after another and ground up several stalks and leaves in a bowl the colour of pale, odorless ginger. “These are from the mountains near in town,” he explained it in his head as he sprinkled more of some water inside the bowl to mix it around while humming a song.

He tossed the salad of strange herbs rhythmically like a dance. A remedy for the mister and his family – for little Alice’s bad toothache, he hummed as he mixed the herbs around. He took a whiff from the bowl; a smile seeped along on his face. He gently placed the bowl down on the countertop with a sigh. He lifted his head out of the window to see the ocean waves crashing against the dull riverbanks, in contrast to dark trees swaying in the breeze. He stood up straight, his silent murmurings coming to a stop. His lips were parted slightly as he stared outside. He laughed when grey clouds came rolling in, bringing in several jars of lightning in their wake.

Yuuri Katsuki loved rainy days – especially when the skies were black and bleak. Despite his love for them, he never liked the thought of being drenched by dirty rainwater. He grabbed his satchel and filled it to the brim with herbs to treat ailments: hypothermia, the slight flu, an injury – scratches and bleeding wounds and anything to numb anything. Yuuri would have known these things would be drenched, anyways. Click, click, click, his bag was closed shut. “Bambi, tell Minako-sensei I would be gone for a while!” He called out to the back door. She poked her head out, her black eyes blinking as she struggled to make out his silhouette, stuffed in an unshapely tan coat and stuffy pants. She squirmed when another wave of thunder roared with a bang. She jumped and yelped,“Yuuri! There’s thunder! Where are you going at this time?”

He turned his head back with a grin as he too had slightly hazy vision. He ran two steps and explained, “Ahh… I’ll just be heading off across the border for a little while,” he explained. She blinked, unable to see his eyes. She sighed and slid back into her room. Once he heard her typing away, he nodded and pulled the hood over his head to walk off. He dashed out the door, with the key in hand. He fished out a spare pair of them and slid them on. They would be coated with a generous layer of water, anyways. He stretched his arms out to rejoice the cold wind and the faint scent of rain. Horses galloped closer and he knew exactly where to go. The man driving them closer was a boy his age with a smile as golden as his. He laughed at the sight of him and nodded with a welcoming gesture.

“Heading off somewhere, Yuuri?”Phichit asked with a grin as he pats the space next to him.

The man nodded with a smile and hopped on to his gentle instructions. Phichit beamed and whipped the ropes; as if it was meant to say in human language, “You know where to go.” The horses dashed forward whilst the two men struggled to keep their balance atop the damp wood. They laughed and talked about whatever that came to mind. Phichit’s robes were drenched with a mixture of sweat and rainwater from the previous journeys to different villages – which he shared prior. They had little speckles of water on the surface of it. He combed his black hair to the side as he squinted forward. A little cream hamster crawled on his shoulder, to use it as a blanket before they entered the forest. The trees towered tall and proudly, their dark silhouettes clashing against the grey sky. Both Yuuri and Phichit had cold sweat dripping down their faces as they looked up to see the sky growing darker and more menacing with a villainous cackle.

“Yuuri,” Phichit attempted to crack a joke, with hopes to ease the taut, fine line they were toeing along on. “Hasn’t Minako-senpai or Bambi stopped you yet?” The other smiled as he pulled his coat over his shoulders while trembling from the cold. He regretted not bringing anything more that the satchel of herbs that would be useless without any form of warmth. He glanced back at him with a nod of reassurance, as if to comfort him in some way. He slipped a lantern off the rusty metal hook and handed it to him with a grin, “Stay safe, Yuuri”. Lighting a match, he tossed it in the thick lamp, only to watch it choke out tiny sparks of embers. “It’ll have to do,” he muttered as he waved his friend away. He walked into the forest, his footsteps trembling and his heart hammering in his chest.

Nothing would happen – he hoped and prayed to the gods above as he walked into the forest.

He got off the side of the horse carriage and walked into the forest alone, his fingers trembling, as his footsteps were rushed and hesitant. He stumbled into the forest with wobbly legs and cold sweat. “I hope this is the right place,” he muttered as he lifted the map up to glance down at the directions and the brief, detailed picture on his book. He shivered a lot more than usual. He moved the lantern closer to his chest as if to provide his feeble heart that much more warmth. He only thought of Phichit and his horses waiting by the side until the start of dusk then they were off, only to be back by midnight if he remembered correctly. He walked, his boots stomping and breaking more leaves and small twigs and nuts apart to create a soundscape only unique to this forest.

Tilting his head up, he saw the rolling mountain lines, covered by a thick quilt of fog that looked like pea soup. The air around him boasted a clean scent of mistletoes and rain pooling up in the gaps of the sky above him. He felt his heart palpitate as he shook his fear away by shaking his head. He looked down at the crumpled map, only to see it being stained by a drop of rain, and then two drops then six. And then the colours ran along the page to form various patterns and lines that were never intended to be there. He stuffed it into his book and ran. A single step grew to the length of two; double steps turned to the length of four and so on. He ran through the wet blanket of mud and insect corpses. All around him, he heard the satanic chanting of cicadas, along with thunder acting as backup vocals to the choir of the rain and dead.

The forest bore dark eyes staring into his soul and that made him petrified to the bone. At times, he knew his feet were meant to be stuck frozen to the ground like an old tree but no, he needed to find shelter. He pushed past intertwining rows of trees to peer his lantern through the darkness of twigs. “I-I’ll be okay,” he stammered as a last ditch effort to comfort himself when he found the sight of the flat ground. Flat ground. Flat ground with several pebbles and some smaller bushes. His eyes lit up at the sight and dashed towards it. He buried his way underneath the thick, prickly cover of the dense bushes. Above him, all he saw was mismatched patches of green with a few dots of purple with yellow freckles. He plucked a few and kept them in his bag with a grin.

As he woke up from each and every one of his short naps from the high, he would see a bright glimmer of silver staring down at him. At this point, he felt its burning breath and the odour of the forest. He gasped, only to slam his mouth shut with his free hand. He searched through his bag out of fear and opened the lantern slightly. He dumped the flowers inside and brought the opening of the lantern closer to his red nose and felt the thick scent of the flowers intoxicate him. He found his body growing numb. His eyes struggled to stay awake but the glimmer of silver hanging above him was like a cat toy hanging in mid air. The prickly leaves and broken ends of branches didn’t hurt as much as they used to and all of a sudden, in the midst of the cold, he felt warm. Before he closed his eyes, the sight of bright, crazy platinum glowing like some silver object in the rain.

* * *

 

 

Victor lit a match and placed the flame by an oil lamp. He recalled what he knew and simply laughed at it as he stared at the lantern. After that, he let it flicker away on a candle. His silver limbs glowed along with the two small flames, providing a crackling red ambience. He simply chose to ignore the black corpses of some familiar flowers inside them. It was in his nature to constantly nibble on his fingernails when he grew increasingly afraid. Nerves in his over muscular frame were stinging him now. He growled as the fur shrunk back into him. His milky skin fur soon became more visible. His eyes marbled a vibrant blue and desolate grey was focused on the flame, with thunder crashing its metal pots and pans outside. “Aren’t you afraid?” A man asked, his voice low and heavy. He barely came up to the height of the recliner he sat on. Victor laughed. Victor shook his head intently.

“Honestly, sir, you should stop scaring humans like that,” he reaffirmed while folding his arms, his bear resting on the side of his forearm. He shook his head when he knew none of his words would ever get into that man’s head, which was as thick as his own fur when he was a beast. The man turned his head to the side to look up at him, his ocean blue eyes glimmering with a playful light. It reminded Otabek of the warm, slightly blue fireflies he used to keep in mason jars as a kid. He took a step forward with a sense of fear controlling him like a helpless and almost useless puppet. The white dress shirt appeared bigger and looser on his broad yet slimming frame. It was like that as the days go by. It had gotten slightly worse as his skin grew paler and more ghostly.

A smile tugged on his lips as his attention was averted back to the brick fireplace.“Why would I?” He cracked a joke. He forced a chuckle as he placed more of the thick, waxy candles by the brick fireplace. The man cocked his head as he placed his arms behind his back, slowly and mercifully. He kept his head low and his coffee eyes at where they should be. He adjusted his tie as he glanced up at him again, his body trembling from a mixture of many things – many reasons. “What is it?” He asked the moment his head seemed to dip back down towards the ground helplessly. Jolting awake, his eyes had a flash of sympathy before freezing up again. He forced a somewhat relieved sigh as he shook his head helplessly.

“I hope you understand that one day you can never change back into a human,” he sounded, his voice deep with sorrow seriousness. The air was polluted with matters that had yet to be settled by both men. “I don’t want that to happen, Vitya,” he sighed as he looked up into his eyes, which appeared to be a hauntingly disgusting shade of platinum now. He cocked his head to the side, to let a wickedly calm grin grace along with his face as he stared at the fire crackling. Otabek found no reason to add on to his words, other than the fact that the air was getting rather odd and colder by the minute. He was barely shivering but he knew Victor was as his tender skin was still exposed to the rain.

“Otabek, you have no right to say that to me,” he started off, breaking the silence, his voice low and devilish as he looked up to make eye contact with him. He stood up, the coat gently slipping off his broad shoulders to show the glimmering ocean of silver fur forming on his shoulder blades. He growled slightly as Otabek smiled while folding his shoulders. He held a stuffed bear closer to his chest as he felt a wave of resolution hit him. Victor Nikiforov’s an insane prince. He stormed around in the small lobby holding with his arms tightly crossed on his chest as he kept his chin up. Once again, fur began to cover his being as a volcano erupted atop of his head. Horns began to peek through the furry cover of silver as fangs grew more.

“Oh… You saw a human again, huh?”

“You wouldn’t believe the nerve of that guy. I-”

He shrugged and shook his head in disapproval as he folded his arms. He shook his head as he took a step forward to place a hand in the gaps of the furry blanket on his head. Every muscle, every twitch and movement was bigger and bolder than before. It was an intimidating silhouette, especially in the milky mix of moonlight and dimmed candlelight. Victor heard his growls and changed right back. Fur sunk back in and his eyes became less frantic and demonic. Victor was going absolutely bonkers. The nerve of that human… He still loved how his eyes shone and sparkled as if they had nothing better to do in the world. It reminded him of what remained of his actual childhood.

“I want to see that man again; that is an order, Otabek, bring him to me,” he commanded, causing Otabek’s shoulders to jerk upwards with cold sweat dripping down his temples. He did everything to refuse but once his words were hanging in the air, they could not be cut back down again with a set of thick, sharp knives. He sighed with a groan as he went towards the door. He moved his head towards him, taking the sight of his deep blue eyes that twinkled desperately. To break this curse – he made a resolution to himself as he turned his back towards him. “I can’t believe you would scare a human off, yet you would want him back again,” he shook his head in disapproval as he hated how that sentence sounded when he muttered it under his breath.

That was his order and he was absolutely insane. He sighed while keeping his torn bear close to his chest as he cracked open the door and walked out. Before that, he was smart enough to pull a cloak from the rack to cover his frame. The rain was still pouring – a storm was about to hit. He pulled on his shirt and began to walk out of the door with a sigh plastered on his face. “Whatever you want, sir,” he said so with a cold tone of angst lacing his voice. He pulled the coat over his head as he walked along the muddy path that he knew he would need to take out the moment he came back. At a time like this, he sighed and held his bear by the arm as he whistled and snapped his fingers for the clicking of horse hooves moving along the dirty floor towards him.


	2. Moonstone Crows & Poison

The ground juddered beneath Yuuri as he fluttered his eyes open only to glance around. He realised that his skin stung as if hot needles had been poking at his skin for the night. He was thankful for the fact that his shirt was drenched slightly, with several leaves sticking out at the sides of the fabric. He looked up, only to see a familiar set of big black eyes staring down at him in worry. In this kind of morning light, he looked like a hamster with coffee coloured fur and deep, chocolate eyes. He gasped, a big, bright smile forming on his lips as he bent down to hug his shoulders tightly. He pulled Yuuri closer to his chest as he laughed with light tears streaming down his face. “Phichit… I-I’m okay…” He muttered as he glanced up above his shoulders.

“Bambi! Minako-sensei!” He gasped when he saw both women looking down at him with a face full of worry. Bambi went towards him with a sigh and pressed three fingers against his forehead that had a bright red patch in the middle of it. She smiled in relief as she pulled away while moving a lock of hair behind her ear. Looking at him, she squinted and nodded gleefully, “I told you it’s going to rain, right, Yuuri?” She winked and held her hand out for him to grab and pull up. He smiled in relief as he finally stood up on his own two feet, his own two footsteps forming stamps in the mud. His footsteps were choppy as he limped to the direction and guidance of both Phichit and Bambi’s words and grip on his shoulders.

He felt the world around him spin and fade into a hole of seemingly nothing as he struggled to keep his own eyes open for more than a minute straight. He asked questions like how a machine gun spat out bullets in a violent and desperate war. Knowing that none of them offered him a decent reply made him melancholic for a while until they reached the horse carriage, which was torn apart by the wind and rain. Phichit and Minako went to the front, as usual, with a pair of ropes in hand as he prepared to whip them, commanding the horses to go forward at full speed. Yuuri felt rather drowsy as if he had been intoxicated with more drugs. He shook his head as his limp, almost lifeless body rolled around in Bambi’s arms. She let him lay down on a flat mat with her bag as a pillow.

“Rest now, child,” she muttered as she peered out of the window as if she was a hunter looking down for her prey. It was hard to believe that it was really sunny and calming outside. It was a simple summer morning, peaking noon anytime now. She was preparing a medicine with the herbs in his bag and the ones in jars stacked in crates and boxes within the horse carriage. She mixed them together in a recipe that only she knew and prepared to let Yuuri try them first. Minako turned back, her black eyes dripping with concern as she stared at the boy sleeping away comfortably with a dreamy grin plastered on his face. He turned over every once in a while snoring and talking in tongues that only he, himself would be able to understand when he wakes up.

Minako smiled when she finally heard that the sleep talking had died down back there. The small beauty mark in her eye blended into the worry lines of her face as she smiled rather fondly. He found himself dozing off into another world where everything around him bore the strong bitterness of herbs. It was just a miracle that something sweet was in the mix. As he slept, many memories of that fateful night had dissipated into strange nothings. Huh, weird. The sounds of the horses moving along the muddy path, accompanied by the occasional neighing sounds were drowning out the white noises in his head. Of course, there were other noises in the air but by then, he was basically as good as a log.

“Just a little further Yuuri,” Bambi said as she tossed him around playfully by the side of the carriage to keep him as active as possible. He was in a deep sleep as if he had been poisoned prior. “T-this thing…” He muttered as he pulled the bag closer to his ear as if he was hearing a few dried sticks in her bag speak to him like a wise old man. He bit his lip as cold sweat dripped down the sides of his temples. He was simply lying around and tossing around. It caught her attention. She decided to lean in closer to take a listen. “What is it?” She probed with a comforting smile as she attempted to see through the foggy darkness to take a good look at the painting of fear and nightmares in front of her.

“It was huge – maybe the height of the shop – it had bright white eyes and white fur! I swore it was light at first but it looked like a winter storm and I swore it was…” He trembled as he said those words with a frown on his face. He pressed his hand against his chest, only to feel it beat so hard that it bulged out of his ribcage. He cried, containing his tears before they started to stream down his face. She wiped them away, as promptly as she had always been doing and sung him a soft lullaby with a smile. “It was terrifying… I h-had to tell it my name… I just had to. It was the only thing I could do to keep myself safe,” he muttered while shaking his head in denial. She smiled calmly and rubbed the side of his head while nodding.

“You can’t fight these kinds of things, Yuuri. Calm yourself down, I’ll prepare a bath for you so just a little longer-”

“Don’t you get it? I’m going to die! It’s going to haunt me and find me and I’m going to-”

“You are okay! Stop fighting and rest!” She snapped and forced him back down on the wooden surface with a worried frown pulling the corners of her lips down. She kept him down like that for a while before finally talking him out of his seemingly never-ending denial. He covered his eyes and more tears began to stream down his face like a hot river. She bit her lips and appeared as if she was begging for mercy at the sight of him. Minako turned towards him and had a storm surrounding her. She sighed before turning forward again with an irritated glance to the side as she slumped back into her seat with a groan. “Hurry up, Phichit. Yuuri had seen it and we must make him forget everything,” she cursed to the heavens as she glared at the innocent clouds floating above.

She cursed at herself soon after, especially when they reached the entrance of the shop where they unloaded everything and placed Yuuri on the ground. Bambi stroked his black locks gently while sighing in relief to know he was breathing normally soon after. She glanced up at Minako with a slight smile while signalling her to get more herbs unloaded from the old crates. She dashed back soon after, like an ant running across a hot pot with the jar and grinding bowl. She ground everything together and then slipped it into a light paper bag and tapped it down with brown tape. “Please go and boil this with some water,” she instructed as she stood up and pulled her hood over her head. She laughed when he began to open his eyes to stare at her in shock.

“I’ll be heading off to the market to get explore some of the new herbs from the neighbouring kingdom, want to come along, Yuuri?” She teased while cocking her head to the side with a smirk. He jolted awake and pulled his own hood over his head and stood up. He trailed behind her with a meek smile and folded his arms. His cheeks were flushed a bright red colour as his body began to heat up with some sort of flu. He stared at her and nodded, reassuring her that he was indeed well enough to travel without a horse. “I’m okay, please, let me go,” he begged silently as he turned back to look at Minako with eyes that glittered desperately like stars. Much to her disappointment, she agreed.

“You’d better come back,” she warned as she went towards the entrance of the shop and opened it to step inside. Phichit followed behind with a smile and a comforting wave as if to salute him like a fellow soldier. He almost admired the way his skin would glow in the faint, spring-like sunlight. The silence of admiration came to a screeching halt when Bambi grabbed onto his hand forcefully with a faint smile gracing along her gentle features. Without words, the both of them made their way into the nearest town with the most noise.

* * *

 

“What kind of human would he even like?” He asked to himself, a volcano exploding at the top of his head as his horse barged through rows and rows of nothing but trees. They stood around the empty forest like multiple disjointed fences splattered around like fresh paint. They seemed to be stronger than a horse’s head when coming together but the horse stormed through with a force far greater than any imagination. He scrunched his eyebrows together as he moved forward with a deep-set frown on his forehead. The teddy bear hung out of the gaps of his thick navy vest with hand-sewn gold stitching. He closed his eyes as he absorbed the stench of the mud below him, along with thick gales of wind. The sounds of his horse galloping provided him with enough motivation to keep his eyes, which were as dark as the storm, open and dilated.

He went through the forest like a raging storm as he thought of the many traits his master would even like as a romantic partner. All he knew was several things about this human: name, brief appearance and the fact that he was across the border. He thought of him and knew that he was perfect instantly. Problem was, neither of them knew where to start. He groaned at the thought that he was bounded by a piece of paper with a rose signature. Still, he whipped down on the horse that ran forward, its hooves moving against the stew of dead leaves, twigs and old nuts. If there was anything he loved to do, was to ride on a horse with a white nose and the same drive as its owner.

“Come on, Oshia, you can do it. Go faster!” He shouted as he bent forward with a bright smile of content, as he held onto the ropes tightly in his rough hands. He squinted his eyes as he went forward, attempting to see past the dark interlacing of trees by the opening of the forest. It caused adrenaline to run and course through his veins as he pulled his cloak tighter around his body. He chuckled when he saw a beautiful glimmer of the town he had the natural intuition of going to. The sight of pale red buildings, coupled with cream brick buildings was a relief to the depressing marble scenes he had long grew accustomed to with time. He calculated the amount of distance he had left before whipping on the ropes to command it to jump.

A wave of accomplishment and pride flooded through his veins as the horse managed to jump over the molehills of logs and tree roots. Oshia dashed forward, its ginger mane waving in the air like ripples of water. He kept his head low to be able to observe everything around him secretly. His dark, dull eyes were injected with a rainbow of life as he basked in the new sights of different stalls with different kingdom emblems on their flags and banners. Instantly, with his mouth hanging low, he got off his horse. As he landed, his boots clicked against the cobblestone path. He widened his eyes as he rested a pair of fingers on his chin coated with stubble to mumble various thoughts and words to him.

The town square, as he had known it, was littered with commoners old and young, male and female, each one trying to find what they needed at a wonderful price. He nodded at the people who passed him by with animated smiles, attempting to sell him something. Out of impulse, he bought a few knickknacks: a tiger toy, a second-hand soldier vest from an old kingdom and who could forget the fact that he needed a sewing kit for his bear. He pulled the bear out from his jacket and held the pink sewing kit tightly in one hand, while the other held onto the leash of the horse. He strolled forward, squinting his eyes to see everything around him. Sooner or later, the toys were stuffed in the gaps of his vest and he found himself losing hope by the second.

He felt a sense of emptiness as if he had nothing else to go for. It was like chasing after something, unreal or a dream that never existed; it was not practical. Despite that, he chose to keep going and he thought that it would be all right, eventually. He sighed as he glanced around, hoping for the fair of luck to sprinkle some of her unique fairy dust and sparkles anywhere in the vicinity for him to see. Speak of the devil and she shall appear, his prayers for something new had finally come to a halt as he heard a voice next to him. He turned his head to view a boy who was around his age – slightly younger maybe – looking up at him with toxic green eyes, which were as sharp as knives. He sighed, with worry in his voice as he folded his arms.

“Look, I’m desperate but my name is Yuri Plisetsky. We need your horse, now,” he told him rather frankly. His small frame seemed to shiver and tremble with fear as sweat dripped down his forehead. He struggled to look up into his dark eyes without feeling a bright pink rush to his face. He cocked his eyebrow as he stepped forward with a forced grin full of genuine sincerity. “Whatever seems to be the matter, Yuri?” He asked with a set of eyes full of deep-set worry. He nodded when he grabbed onto his hand and dragged him behind. Naturally, surprise overwhelmed him at first but he figured: commoners had no way of controlling their emotions at any point in time when they’re desperate. It was human nature.

The both of them went towards one side of the town square, where small crowds of people began to lump together like wild spectators to a show. The show they were both encountered with was a still and fatal one. The man on the ground (Yuuri) had gone cold and there was no way of treating him with a number of herbs he had. He ran his fingers through his blonde bob while attempting to explain everything but his thick accent got in the way. A woman pulled him onto her lap and wiped his sweat dry while attempting to look for symptoms but to no avail. Otabek had a pang of distraught the moment he looked up into the sky, to find a dark, menacing crow with eyes the colour of moonstones.

“Watch out!” He shouted as he pulled the horse away from its sharp beak, which was laced with poison – he could simply tell – that was the master’s ultimate favourite. He caught the crow and strangled its neck until it choked and blacked out. Everyone around him gasped as they stared at the man clad in black with a matching bird clenched tightly in his rough hand. He sighed as he handed the crow to the woman and pointed to the crimson liquid all over the crow’s lips. “This is Riberry Poison. It’s fatal, even in small doses,” he explained with a cold voice. He seemed to have everyone’s attention as he spoke. He sighed with a frown gracing the corners of his lips as he looked into the sharp green of his eyes and the foggy blue of the woman’s. “There is only one place where I know the antidote would be stored and unfortunately, I would need a few days and I would need this man to come along to get it injected into his blood as soon as possible,” he said. This injected fear into the both of them as they desperately looked at each other for a better solution but came to none.

“Fine! But I’m coming along to make sure-”He stopped himself when he felt a burning fire behind his neck. He turned back to see her glaring into his soul with the distinct look of utter discomfort spreading across her round face. A volcano exploded atop of her head as she flipped her red fringe to the side as an attempt to signify that her red hair meant hot lava flowing out of an erupting volcano. She struggled to make out details of his face, especially when he was all clad in one colour – black – the colour of bitter darkness. She shifted back, shaking her head while glaring at him to bear holes into his strong and stubborn facade. It seemed to be working just like a charm for her. “You better not think of anything this rash, now,” she growled under her breath.

He went towards her and sighed while crossing his arms before looking at Yuuri with sunken eyes. He cocked his head while continuing to break through the layer of hot rocks she had set up specifically to protect herself. “I don’t trust him,” she said simply with a firm glare in his direction. He clenched his fist as he gripped onto her shoulders and pulled her to face him properly. “Old woman, your apprentice’s life is at stake and you’re going to be like this? After everything?” He asked, snapping into two like a fragile biscuit. She coughed while wiping away a stray tear on her face. She stood up and stared at him as if she was staring at the sight of a funeral from the outside. She felt so strange, yet with his hand on her shoulder, feeling nothing but sympathy and hope in the bleak hopelessness was the best option.

For his sake, she supposed. She turned her head towards him; her heart palpitating as she reluctantly gave him the green light. Minako wouldn’t like this decision at all. Words appeared to stop coming out from his mouth as he loosened his grip on his arms while looking at her. The slight air of silence between a stall-keeper and his regular customer was estranged and seemingly non-existent as they took not of the contrasting colours and shades in their eyes. Every facial detail of hers was different each day, he realised. He forced a smile and a hefty chuckle as he quickly hugged her before storming towards the man in black. With his fists clenched tightly by his side, he lifted his chin up to look at him with a frown weighing down on his pale lips.

“You’d be damned if you didn’t mean a single word you just said. This better is the real deal, asshole,” he cursed as he looked up at him with a violent gaze that simply called for a real war. He smiled and shrugged, his ashen skin restoring to become a faint peachy colour that was reminiscent of real, pinky health. He shrugged again as he looked at him. “So be it, let’s go right now, I just hope that the master would be expecting some guests,” he replied cynically as he held the dead corpse, tightly in his hand as if it was an ornament awarded to him after winning a war. Yuri gulped but remained tough as the man got on his horse with Yuuri hanging off the sides of his lap. He snapped his fingers together and another dark horse emerging from the shadows came towards him.

People questioned him and their own sanities – was it all real? How can I reassure my child that what they were seeing was simply an optical illusion? It was stable and dark, with a strong back and eyes the colour of coal with a little twinkle that resembled big, bulky diamonds trapped in the rough. He quickly began to listen to the music of his heart as he closed his eyes hear the shadow horse gallop along the pathway. The noises of people drowned around him as he got onto the back of this creature and kicked the side of its leg and it ran faster than ever before, to chase after the shadow in front of them.

The broad silhouette in front of him was toying with him like a cat and he hated that. With every step they took, he swore that he would take two more and in the darkness, the horse moved faster. He began to move next to them silently with the look of a hunter plastered on his face. That shocked Yuuri whenever he would flutter his eyes once every so often, it was unusual for him to have that kind of look no matter how furious he would really be. He kept his eyes shut as poison started to intoxicate every nerve fibre of his being. Every time he opened his eyes, he felt that it would be the last time he would ever see the crack of daylight. His eyes felt heavy and his body felt limb to even crack a single movement to prove to himself that his heart was still beating. Worse still, he was on a man’s lap, waiting to die of poisoning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks much for reading! So sorry for the story development at this point but just a little spoiler, Victuuri will *finally* meet in the next chapter! Stay tuned to see how this goes. And also, if I feel like it, I'll have a new series, which will be a lot more light-hearted and pure!


	3. They Have The Antidote

The moment Yuuri cracked his eyes open, he was stunned to find everything around him to be bold and mostly dressed in dark velvet. At first, he thought he was losing his sanity when he realized everything around him looked like hot, vibrant cherries. He felt like his head was spinning and it was about to snap right off his sore, tired neck. He felt something soft and rather greasy beneath his messy black locks. As he tossed and turned, he pondered if he was still alive or dead. Better yet, he wondered if he would be able to finally crack his chocolate eyes open without fail. Minako would be disconsolate if she ever found out, he thought and laughed to himself as he managed to sit up straight while running a hand through his hair to comb it, in effort to restore its lost neatness and primness.

He fluttered his eyes open and closed, feeling his heart constantly burning and surge with nothing but heat and poisons from the several hours before. The room he thought of himself to be in was designed so that one would be immediately greeted with the beauty of the world outside when one turned their head to the side from their beds. As he looked out, he instantly admired the calm winds and scenery of the forest. It was rather plain, especially in broad daylight with trickles of sunshine falling against the edges of the leaves. He sighed, figuring out that it would have to do for the time being before he inevitably screamed and threatened to pull his own hair out of his scalp.

Glancing around the room, he quickly found himself mesmerized by the glow and plain shabby beauty of the stones that formed the walls of the room. He bit his lip as his fingers were held onto his blanket tightly as he shivered from the slight cold inside. He looked outside lustfully, hoping when he would be able to stand on his own two feet to walk away like a proud man walking out of prison. He could only hope for that as he took in a whiff of the air, which had thick grains of dust hanging in the air. He felt his heart stop beating for a quick second as he glanced to the side to see a familiar set of hair and clothes. He gasped when the figure turned to the side to reveal his dark eye line and pale, ashen skin. 

“Yuri?” He asked quietly as he inched towards the edge of the bed and bent down to see his features. A pair of his fingers brushed away a lock of hair with a sigh escaping his lips. His sigh was warm and tender, making him jolt his eyes open to see him. He growled out of anger and slammed the pillow on his head as he rolled around on the floor like a child throwing a tantrum. He kicked the thin sheet of blanket away as he pressed his head against the wall with a heavy sigh. “What is it, Katsuki?” He grunted while taking slight glances in his direction every once in a while with a smirk. Yuuri smiled as he crossed his legs on the bed while looking at him fondly while cocking his head to the side. Yuuri sighed while wrapping his arms around his knees as they shook out of the cold.

“Why are you here?” He asked while burying his head deep into the crevices of his knees. Yuri widened his eyes at the question as he yanked the blanket off his slim and small frame to sit by the edge of the bed with a light and gentle sigh escaping the gaps if his lips. He glanced over towards him with a plain shrug as he folded his arms and crossed his legs to make himself comfortable at the edge of the bed. “Even I myself am not too sure about things like that,” he laughed to himself while scratching the back of his head in regret. He tilted his head to the side while caving into the temptation and fell flat on the comfort of his bed. “Is it wrong for a fifteen year old to care?” He asked pensively while staring up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes while humming a song to himself.

“Tell me, Katsuki, is that absurd or wrong?” He asked with a laugh. He jumped and shook his head while slamming his back against the headboard while shaking his head, cursing himself for being blessed with the nightmare that he was fortunate enough to only see once a week but now, it was just so much better. He faked a smile as he shrugged his shoulders while forcing a smile on his lips. “No, of course not, don’t be so ridiculous,” he replied, rolling his eyes in implied disgust as he folded his legs while scratching the edge of his head in near disgust. He shook his head while grabbing a pillow and holding it closer to his chest with a grin and fell back to the fluffy heaven of overstuffed pillows. Yuri groaned in annoyance as he lay on his stomach while twirling his hair.

Just when the both of them could speak of the devil, he soon came. He came through the wooden doors with a sweet smile and a cart full of silver trays full to the brim with deserts and all things tasty and decent to the taste buds. The both of them glanced up from their positions and stared at a tall man with dark features stopping midway into the room. His deep, chocolate eyes looked at them with a look of compensation and sympathy as he turned to the side and bowed. “My apologies but breakfast is served,” he stated calmly, his voice clear and articulate as he opened the lids of all the metal plates to reveal a feast for the eyes. Eggs prepared in dozens of ways took up one of the three plates. The one in the middle had a million different cheeses – in both blocks and slices. The one nearest to him had: toast, waffles and molehills made of potato slices.

“Wah… This looks delicious!” He squealed as he leapt up from the position of the bed and crouched beside the cart with a bright smile stretching from ear to ear. The man chuckled and glanced over at Yuuri, lightly nodding his head in contempt as his glance signaled for him to go over towards him. “Breakfast is ready,” he reiterated before bowing once again and walked out of the door that was slightly ajar. Yuuri barely had time to respond to the sight of the glamorous sight that beheld him when a slice of toast stuffed with scrambled eggs forced their way into his mouth. Small lines of butter leaked out from his mouth as he struggled to chew it all down. He glanced at the boy while smiling subtly to himself as he ate. 

“This is delicious…” He said quietly as he ate more in small nibbles this time. Yuri laughed and nodded in agreement as he poked the side of his cheek childishly. As he said more things, with his words becoming more muffled and less clear, the more at ease Yuuri felt at the sight of his clear enjoyment. He took one block of dark orange cheese and ate it quietly as he hopped for time to pass. Like the day before, as he remembered to the best of his abilities, he remembered his muscles aching intensely for a good couple of minutes before finally turning numb. He remembered feeling nothing, as he seemed to see the diluted and deluded version of death when poison took effect in his body.

“Yuri, how did I get here?” He asked meekly, his cheeks swollen and partially full of bits of thick cheese. The boy turned back to look at him as if he had gone insane be gulping down the large portions of food that was still stuffed in every crevice in his mouth. He smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind his ear as he spoke with a tone so quiet and gentle that it was quite unlike him. In the same hushed tone, he explained to the best of his abilities, “You were poisoned for a while and no fucker knows why.” Both of them sighed as they folded his arms while nibbling on the feast beside them. 

Call it witchcraft but the air in between them instantly turned sour and bitter. It was too quiet for them, especially when they loved to shout at each other about prices. They finished up the last crumb on each plate before calling for the man back to tidy the place up. Their eyes were flashing with worry and fear for something that they had no idea of. It was in their right to only hope for the best and ignore the worst of the worst that would come their way. They were trying to think of a way out even when they weren’t speaking. “Yuuri, are you alright, now?” He asked, his hand holding onto his knee affectionately.

He nodded while holding onto the back of his neck that ached and cried for attention. He shrugged his shoulders as he took another block of cheese and nibbled on it at an even slower pace than a tiny and timid mouse. With a laugh, he looked at the boy and gave a thumb up with a light and cheeky grin. “Ahh… Don’t worry about me! I’m sure I can cure myself!” He declared proudly as he pat his pants, hoping there would be something inside but to no avail. His eyes shot open to find nothing inside them and his heart began to palpitate, sending sharp waves throughout his veins as he struggled to speak. He thought he was beginning to choke on words and sanity when he slammed his back against the headboard. 

“Yuuri, they have the antidote, just listen to me, okay?” he quietly said as he helped him out of the bed. To hear his voice reach a new level of silence and dread was something unexpected and new. He hesitantly followed the younger boy’s instructions and words as they walked to the edge of the door. They crouched low as the older man’s head leant against his shoulder and it rolled around there. He did his best to stay awake as they moved along the sides of the wall to avoid suspicion. The moment they left the comfort of their room, their senses were immediately heightened to the maximum. 

Yuuri cocked his head as he was jerked awake by the boy’s sharp and strong pull on his wrist. “Move along, lazy ass,” he growled as they crept along, underneath the dark safety net of the walls. Their footsteps grew and heightened as they walked quicker and quicker to their thundering heartbeats. He moved his black hair aside as his big chocolate brown eyes stared at the dirty blonde hair as if it was his guide towards a destination. They walked forward and then a slight bump seemed to halt their movements. The both of them stood erect in fear as the man rubbed his temple and chuckled. They held their breath and widened their eyes while having a psychological warfare.

Before either one was able to apologise, the man stood up, revealing his tall and slender figure. His light, tender blue eyes looked at them with such compassion it made them even guiltier. “Sorry,” Yuri mentioned briefly as they walked away, the grip on each other’s hands tightened. The man smiled and nodded as if to forgive them before walking away himself. Yuuri turned his head back meekly, recognising that shade of platinum instantly. His footsteps slowed down and his heartbeat quickened as memories came flooding back and striking him like a bow and arrow laced with fire. He stood up straight on his own as his eyes flashed with anxiety and nervousness. 

“Hey!” He called out to the man at the top of his lungs as he struggled to break free of the boy’s iron grip.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update but I hope you guys like it! I wasn't feeling it for a while but I'm back anyway LMAO :D


	4. Victor's Playthings

The man simply smiled at him, as if to provide him with a kind and relaxed greeting. All of a sudden, the air felt sombre and melancholic as the man turned back and offered Yuuri a look at his bright blue eyes that were gleaming with bright traces of eerily haunting starlight. Yuuri huffed and pulled his hand away from the boy, much to his dismay as he stormed towards him. The man still retained his gentle and comfortable smile despite his shoulders and posture tensing with apprehension and adrenaline. When Yuuri came close enough towards him, he chuckled and grabbed his wrist and pinned him down to the wall nearby. The boy was shouting his name as he desperately ran to his aid, only to be blocked by the sight of a pair of white wings that appeared to be made of pure snow. He stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in fear as the wings began to flash and reflect light like steel. Fear purely covered Yuuri’s eyes, filling the gaps of his deep, innocent brown eyes; intimidation took over the place of kindness in the taller man’s eyes. This immediately sent chills up Yuuri’s spine as he pressed himself further against the wall so much that he somehow began to sink into it.

“You don’t have anything to put you to sleep anymore, right my sweet?” He asked, placing a hand underneath his chin, his long, sharp claws holding his face upwards to face him. Small beads of hot tears gathered at the sides of his eyes as his limbs gradually grew numb out of fear. His heart palpitated more the longer he looked into his eyes that were even more vibrant to reflect the stronger storms of emotions that brewed inside of him. Pure worry for him and his friend’s safety quickly overcame the numbness that was in his body. Upon realising and noticing his hands were twitching, he pushed the man’s hand away from his face with an indifferent frown and sigh. “I have no idea what you did to me but… I want to be cured of it so…” He placed his feet on the floor and rubbed the crook of his neck to relieve both the pain and anxiety that gathered there. The wings on the man’s back began to fold and retreat back to where they belonged and any traces of fur disappeared as well. They looked at each other in mild surprise before showing slight grins. “I want the antidote to the poison in me. That’s why we’re here and there’s nothing much else to it, sir,” he continued his statement. 

Victor stared at him in pure shock with a slight tint of disgust. He cleared his throat before strolling closer towards Yuuri, who was stumbling back towards the younger boy. His sharp green eyes softened slightly as he attempted to calm him down, reassuring him that since they were so close to death, it was nice to die with a good person. That’s really depressing, says Yuuri with a cough; that’s the point, stupid, replies Yuri with a shallow and sullen sigh. Despite the numbness in their limbs, the shots of pure adrenaline in their systems were enough to get them moving but the way his eyes bore deeper into their souls were enough to hold them still. “Just go, Yuri, at the-the very best you can kind of live,” he whispered, his heart struggling to gather the courage to say the words. Without hesitation and opposition (which was weird for him), the comfortable sight of his friend’s toxic green eyes was gone. The intimidating air around the man was subtle and less deadly than before and it eased him a little bit. “Is that all you want, Yuuri Katsuki? There’s nothing else you want to know about me -- the person who scared the living daylight out of you?” He asked. Like his friend, there was a foreign accent that was thick but it was easier to understand and comprehend in the midst of his anxiety. 

“You don’t scare me; actually, as a man, you seem charming and to a certain extent -- kind. It’s just… I didn’t expect you to appear in front of me like a snowstorm in summer,” he laughed at the last part, his cheeks burning bright red out of embarrassment. Naturally, the man stared at him in shock at the sudden outburst of soft happiness. Yuuri fixed his black hair again, along with his glasses so that they would fit better on his round face that was emanating natural warmth and simple kindness. The man tensed up even more at it, his pale skin turned more translucent when cold sweat dripped down his temples. “I was shocked and scared for my life and I didn’t know what else to do in the moment,” he further explained his point of view while attempting to stand up straight despite his legs being as fragile as twigs. He lifted his head up shyly to look at him. To Yuuri, his face seemed a little sad, like fallen snow on a night during a melancholic storm; his gaze towards him was forlorn with a tint of pensiveness. He bit his lip while looking at the ground to think of what to say next confidently.

“I’m sorry I scared you like that,” he apologised quietly, his cheeks were stained a tender shade of red as he said that. Humming, Yuuri shook his head and continued to hold his gentle smile while shaking off the awkward atmosphere with his hands that were coated generously with stab wounds and scars. Each detail about this black-haired man made him a little more interested in him but was it because he was human or was it because he was brighter than the fireflies that would hang around by the swamp in the summer. He hesitated at every step he took towards him, cold sweat formed on his face and dripped down slowly. “It’s okay! Glad that misunderstanding was cleared up… So, what would you want for the antidote?” Yuuri asked, refusing to drop the topic, especially since all feeling in his limbs were disappearing, fading away into nothing. His head began to spin and ache, his senses were losing their grip on reality as they were unable to process it. He continued to look into his blue eyes with despair. He coughed heavily, with trickles of blood on his palms while holding onto his stomach to stabilize his weakening body. For some reason, the longer he looked into his eyes, the longer he realised and accepted that Yuri was right -- he was going to die. As a last-ditch attempt for freedom, he clenched and bit on his lower lip and limped towards the sight of a worried boy as his curses were his ultimate guide.

With each breath he took, his chest tightened and his heart began to pound more intensely as if to break out of his body. He kept seeing small stars and sparks oscillate around his field of vision, causing his steps to be shaky and awkward until he eventually found comfort in the sea of darkness that surrounded him. His head was on the boy’s shoulder and his eyes that were green like the forests bore intense anger like a wild inferno. “You bastard!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, clearly this time. The man laughed gently and continued to look at him with the same set of steel blue eyes that were like the calm before the storm. The man smiled sadistically at the boy before walking towards him, his shoes clicking against the floor. The added sound effects helped with his personality -- the aura of intimidating intelligence emanating off of him was now enhanced tenfold. It did nothing to suppress his anger as the toxicity of his eyes grew stronger and more potent by the minute. “I don’t think I won’t do anything to the both of you,” he chuckled with the corners of his slender pink lips twitching up in pure amusement. Yuri huffed and pushed him away from the man’s intimidating gaze the longer his blue eyes settle on his black hair; Yuri hulled his friend over his slender and narrow back with his face resting in the crook of his shoulder; Yuri sighed and turned on his heels, knowing that his insistent stubbornness was not going to get him anywhere -- all he could do was pray for him at least.

“Hmm? You don’t want the antidote for your friend there?” He asked, his face forming a frown as he pouted. He placed his hands on his slender waist while watching the boy carry the taller man further away from his view. The moment Yuri heard his clear, articulate voice again, anger boiled inside of him and it inspired his steps to be faster and wider apart. The man stared in confusion while cocking his head to the side. Humans are just so interesting, he thought to himself over and over again. The longer he stared and studied, the less likely he wanted to give them anything other than actual hell to see how they reacted. It was either that or his manservant would interfere -- he hoped the latter would never happen. “I don’t trust you and neither should this lazy ass right here! We’ll be going home now,” he continued, his accent serving him well for once as he carried him back to their room and slamming the door shut. The man found a sense of enjoyment and amusement rush through his veins when he heard the young boy shout and curse.

“Victor… Give me a break,” a deep voice pierced through the silence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar young man with coffee-coloured skin, rich dark hair and a pair of black eyes that looked like chocolate cake. He held several unlabelled bottles that were full of the same coloured liquid and they were on the verge of spilling out of the gaps of his arms. He rubbed his forehead in annoyance before tossing him a glare that could kill him in an instant should he care enough. “I’m a human just like them, don’t ever make me forget that. Besides… You want your playthings to live right? It’s no fun to play with corpses,” he remarked, his deep voice heavy. As worry filled him up from the inside, he seemed to have lost a little bit of his intonation and respect for the man, which seemed to annoy him. He kept his posture erect and his breathing monotonous as he went towards the wooden door where he knew the two of them rested. The man folded his arms and watched his manservant kick the door open with one foot as the other supported his strong frame. Victor was a little bit more lost than usual. Unlike most days, his feet were stuck to the ground like a statue and he was unwilling to move an inch out of fear that he would disturb his test subjects. He began to laugh hysterically and laughter turned to wild growls, roars and horrifying cackles that filled the small room with utter fear.

“I need the both of you to listen up, he’s an evil fuck but he’s the prince of your town. Take the antidote back and say the prince is here, as sadistic and as evil as always and tell them to bring along their strongest men for protection for when the situation gets too intense. To kill him, one needs to burn him alive and dispose of his ashes into any known ocean or sea for which, he can easily come back to haunt you two for fun. Yuuri, when you feel better, do just that for me, okay, to repay for the antidotes? Can you do it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BLESS ME IM BACK BIATCHES
> 
> I'll update all of my other fics and will create more one-shots soon enough until school starts again.


	5. Damn It

“Feeling better?” A clear voice spoke, breaking the faint chatter in the background. Yuuri froze in his position, stunned and unable to comprehend the situation at hand as he continued to shiver, despite a pair of voices reassuring him of his safety.

 

The moment his chocolate eyes fully opened to see the world that surrounded him, they were met with the personification of an anxiety attack. He stared at the man again, his eyebrows moving both upwards and downwards on his face, failing to convey any sense of emotion that was tangible and understandable. Luckily for him, the both of them were still in the room with him, almost ready to explain and retell the whole story from the very beginning, including how they met in the first place if that would make him feel any better. There were no more words left to say, there was nothing left to fill the empty air with -- no empty conversations or threats or warnings, just the simple silence that seemed to be a blessing for a little while. Disbelief and anxiety chipped away at his senses and corrupted them further, causing his head to spin further down into insanity. Yuuri forced a smile, attempting to look like he followed along as he sat up straight with a look of understanding but the pure naivety concealed and overwhelmed it. With enough time in between, he decided it was fine to continue, “You need to burn Victor… He won’t die in any other way…” Yuri’s brows twitched a little out of irritation before inching closer towards the man with a look of pure determination to get more out of him. “Why him, specifically, Otabek Atlin?” He asked rather frankly, his voice thick with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. Yuuri hummed as well, hoping to get an answer as well. Being backed into a corner, he sighed, his lips sewn shut with his gaze being averted to the bed sheets they sat atop of.

 

“If it helps, I’ll do it. I wouldn’t mind seeing a hot, burning fire kill some guy who lives in the middle of the woods like a hobo. Besides, this fat arse is way too innocent for shit like this,” he offered. They stared at the boy in shock but they refused to oppose him since he was a stubborn mule in his own right. Yuuri shrugged, pushing his glasses above his nose and stuffing more antidotes into his bag with a laugh. He glanced at the both of them and told them his plan to escape, which was to jump out of the window and run to the nearest town and get directions back home. Any town is better than this prison, he thought and they agreed in a near instant. When the sun was high above the castle, Otabek sighed and opened the window just enough for them to slip by. Naturally, Yuuri went down the tree first and the boy was looking at him first. All of a sudden, he felt a pair of fingers jab at his side and a pair of black eyes burn their way into his volatile soul. In a soft and calming manner, they moved in closer to each other as if one of them had to say something. “Meet me at the border tomorrow at midnight,” he articulated before sighing heavily. The look of defiance on the boy’s face faded away, replaced with a look of empathy and melancholy that dulled his expression completely. It was not a nice look but the quick nod of confirmation put them both at ease.

 

“Noted.”

 

* * *

 

Underneath the clear moonlight, the tall man’s frame seemed to have an angelic aura surrounding him. The shade of platinum on his head perfectly suited the night they shared together in the castle that often reeked of sweat and old rubbish. The water droplets that dripped along the nooks and crannies in the curvature of his slender muscles appeared to twinkle brightly like stars. He gazed out of the window wistfully, a wild and insane collection of thoughts buzzed through his mind, occupying him so much that he began to daydream a little bit. His mannerisms once confused his manservant, until the latter realised that he was probably a bit sober. He lit a few of his favourite candles: peppermint, wood and plain vanilla, in an effort to calm his master down. Soon enough, the dimly-lit candles were emanating the warmth and comfort of the forest that laid beyond the castle walls -- it lightened up the mood a little bit for once. The air was still and humid, encapsulating and suffocating both men in a sea of dust and scorching summer midnight heat. After exchanging a few greetings, there was a sense of uneasiness creeping up on Otabek, sending chills right up his spine and causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand. As usual, he mustered up enough confidence and courage to make his way towards the door that showed signs of the bright lights from oil lamps that lined the castle walls. He felt his steps quicken, as the distance grew longer and further; his breaths became shorter and quicker; his heart was thumping and bursting out of his chest with each passing second. 

 

What made him stop? It was more troubling to him since he had made it so far. The lights and warmth all around him grew dim and then they just vanished. The door slammed shut in his face, causing the lock to fall out and fall onto the floor with a clatter. At this feeling, his black eyes lightened to form a paler shade of grey that seemed almost lifeless. It was as if his world had just collapsed in on itself, enveloping him with a sense of dread and helplessness that he could never overcome unless he escaped. Upon hearing Victor hum his name in a gentle, coy and pleasant manner, his heart skipped several beats and his jaw dropped to the lowest level of hell. A tugging feeling in his heart forced his legs to turn around and he dragged his feet to close the distance between himself and Victor. Once their eyes met, his dark eyes reflected fear clearly in an odd manner that seemed to amuse and even entertain the man. The angelic aura surrounding him was unnerving and eerie, despite how calm it made him feel at the start. A mixture of white noise and silence quickly overwhelmed him when he saw that Victor had an inquisitive glint in his eyes that only meant that he was studying his features carefully to see the truth unfold before him. 

 

“Just what are you conspiring in that clever mind of yours?” Victor asked, his voice slick and comfortable with a seductive smirk tugging on one corner of his lips. He kept his frown as he stood his ground while forcing himself to look at the taller man in the eye. He glanced over at him before looking outside to face the cerulean and celestial beauty of the night sky beyond the castle wall. It gave him relief for a few seconds at least. “If I could wish for one thing… I would wish to always know what you’re thinking. You’re an intelligent one, I’ll admit that. But, if I knew, we wouldn’t be playing a game, right? You would just be in my puppet show -- my very own human simulator with the three of you!” He spoke with glee in his voice yet, his pronounced every word of his with dignity, elegance and an accent that was similar to the boy’s but had more year’s worth of refinement. With the energy he had left, he managed to calm his nerves down enough to look away from the man with a soft sigh. He offered the man a gentle smile and a snort at his mini-monologue. Naturally, Victor would return his smile with one of his own. “You think too highly of me, Vitya. I was just doing something you should have done… I guess that has created some misunderstandings, no?” He snorted with a humorous laugh at the end for some good measure. He scoffed again before looking out the window as Victor began to cackle hysterically like there was no end to either his breaths or happiness from his dark, cold heart. Each laugh he left out were like small shards piercing through his skin and subconscious, causing panic to arise in him. 

 

To suppress fear the fear erupting and bubbling to the surface was a mammoth task that required a separate soul to do and accomplish. Otabek’s eyes were full of fear -- an emotion that only a true human could feel, Victor thought -- and it showed in the sliver of tears that trickled down his face. “Damn you, you did it… You did it… You can’t be a human anymore; you’re just a fucking monster. I warned you so many times and yet you-” In the heat of the moment, his tongue got caught and words could barely leave his mind and escape into the air. Soon enough, the atmosphere they shared was full of nothing but empty promises and words. He could barely contain himself as the cold began to break his sanity down further. At this sight, the man began to laugh like an innocent child after seeing a man fall flat on his face after slipping on a banana peel, his tears were his laughter. The scene that played out in front of him was nothing more than a poorly-executed comedic skit full of good jokes. His silver lashes glowed like pearls and his body became looser; his black hair was rough and unkempt, his frame became smaller and so did his courage. Gaining courage, Otabek stood erect like the perfect manservant that he was told to be long ago, only to look at the monster that cultivated himself with anger and fear. “I’m sorry, your highness, I’ll never speak to you like that again,” he replied, his voice getting colder. His body posture showed signs of true surrender as he slouched and he refused to look into his blue eyes that were too serene and beautiful. After scoffing, Victor stood up from his seat, extending his long legs to show off the fur that began to grow. His human form began to fade and so did his calm state of mind.

 

His mannerisms were sloppy and messy, much like an uncultured swine. He came towards him, walking comically with every step he made amplified by the walls that surrounded them. Moonlight and starlight created the hauntingly beautiful aura of the nightmare that stood before him. Its shoulders were wider than before’ its clothes seemingly peeled off his body as fur and muscle were pushing their boundaries so much to the point where the seams began to burst; its face made way for a satanic, devilish smile with sharp teeth that had blood stains covering its natural yellowish-ivory colour. Death seemed to take its liking to Otabek as the creature stared at him with its beautiful blue eyes, enchanting him in a weird way. He shook his head and closed his eyes shut as its claws dug into his shirt and penetrating his dark skin to feel his blood that was scorching in a heavenly way. His face revealed nothing but pain and he winced moans and groans as he dug its fingernails deeper and deeper until blood gushed out violently. That’s it -- he thought to himself -- I’m actually going to die in this place without saving either one of them. What a human I was, oh well… The creature pulled its claws away before its muscular frame shrunk down enough for their eyes to meet “comfortably”. Once that was done, as he began to sprint out of the room, the creature dug its claws back into the wound with a horrible cackle that was low and threatening. After releasing a roar, a voice came close to his ear and said its last words like how the wind would rush past one’s ear. Once Otabek’s tears began to fall again, the beast dashed out of the door, not without letting the candles and oil lamps emanate their light and warmth again for him.

 

He crumbled to the floor as he shook while holding his wound. “Yuuri Katsuki is going to die…” He muttered to himself repeatedly, as if it was going to help him regain his sanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HIII MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE
> 
> Anyways, I'll be updating the rest of my fanfictions tomorrow and I'll be creating several one-shots for Nezushi (Nezumi and Shion from No.6) and Karmasiga (Karma and Nagisa from Assassination Classroom) (?) as well! See you guys on Christmas and I hope you guys enjoy this update! This is pretty good so far, in my opinion, of course, so I hope you guys stick around for the next chapter!


	6. Surprise

Victor cracked his eyes open hesitantly once again to the sound of silence flowing in through the gaps of his sight and vision. In front of him was the wooden door that seemed to welcome him almost every day whenever he woke up. Even with this sight giving him some form of relaxation and even comfort, he still felt a little bit anxious each time he found the strength he opened his eyes. Would that mean that he would eventually have the strength to open his eyes to see death? No. No. No… That would never happen, no one could possibly kill him. No one knew how. He laughed at the thought, finding his courage again to stand up again. As he stood, feathers began to flutter away into the oblivion of the stars, leaving the silver and slippery surface of his skin. Glancing upward, it was relieving to see that the sky was not all that bright, it was quite the opposite actually. It was still a pretty black colour with pops of bright blue in the middle of it. The stars were a mixture of white and an elegant bright cyan and yellow surrounding the edges of it to form a vibrant and oddly colourful aura that surrounded the stars. He groaned while stretching his slender arms widely in contempt; he twirled around on one foot like a ballerina, as if to complement the beautiful, idyllic scenery he was blessed to see on a daily basis; he hummed a song while planting his hands along the curves of his slender waist. As he closed his eyes, he remembered the savageness of the forest chill at night. It should have been summer, he thought, why was it suddenly winter? That boy was right, who was he again? Yuuri? Yuuri Katsuki… What a charming man. Just the thought of the sight of his chocolate eyes glimmering with humane warmth pierced through him in a gentle way that seemed more than distracting. It was summer right now, the warmer and more humid air would help the ice within his chest and body, his wings became limper as well probably because it was constantly drenched with sweat.

Once the fur and feathers faded away on his body, he grabbed the golden key and began to unlock the door, at least without his manservant knowledge. “Otabek!” He chimed, a charming and somewhat off-pudding smile spreading across his handsome features. He stretched his limbs again, his footsteps making loud noises as he walked on the stairs and along the creaky floors, towards his office. Otabek must have cried himself to sleep -- he knew -- that man would never be this quiet. Victor laughed to himself, running a hand through his silver hair that was littered with clumps and armies of loose leaves and dried dead flowers. He curiously passed by the man’s room, which was as mysterious as he. He closed one eye, to peer through the gap of the door, only to see the man seemingly sound asleep. Otabek snored as loud as a pig when he got too comfortable and the sheets never wrapped around his body. His head was resting on the wooden board and his legs hung off the bed in an unnatural way. How odd, Victor thought before straightening himself up. He was not used to the silence at this time of the night, especially since he came back much earlier than usual. For some reason, he was expecting the usual naggy and easily irritable behaviour and the speech that would come along with it. He bit his lip before walking away from the door, sighing along the way towards his room. Hidden deep beneath the calm and serene exterior were chaos and a war that he could never truly prepare for. The moment he entered his room, he closed his door and let himself fall back onto the soft mattress of his bed. He attempted to condense his thoughts in a way that was easy to understand, only to be met with failure and unfathomable difficulty.

“Otabek Altin, what are you thinking of? You’re not following as I say… The least you could do is surprise me with emotion, with conviction like the brilliant actor and man that you are,” he snickered before closing his eyes and letting the darkness of dawn comfort him even in sleep. As he sighed heavily, he forced his eyes to truly close and fall asleep. He dreamt of many imaginative things (surprisingly he was still able to dream despite his “strong” sense of logic), including performances, paintings and the newest potions made of the most mundane. There was nothing he could do at the moment in time to stop the dreams that kept constantly pouring in like an infinite waterfall of dreams mixed with nightmares. With each aspect of his psychology that was in full control of his dreams, the nightmares kept coming in, ready to invade him and take over. He bit his lip as they continued to get progressively worse and worse with each passing night. He shivered as if he was cold as he buried his head deeper into his saliva-soaked and hair covered pillow; his tall frame trembling out of fear -- an emotion that he thought only his toys felt because they were only human. It was a miracle that he even thought of coming home early since sleep was constantly on the back of his mind as his eyes never found peace when they closed for a mere few hours, let alone an eternity. Lucky him, he ran away from his greatest fear yet again. He forced himself to find some peace within the chaos of his brain, to let himself fall asleep for the first time in a long time. The moon was full and moonlight flooded into his room and it complimented the beautiful shade of platinum that coloured his hair. Tears rolled down his swollen cheek, appearing like tears in the moonlight of dawn.

 

* * *

  
“Are you sure you’re okay to come to work?” A soft voice asked, pushing the man from side to side gently as if he were a baby. The voice continued to speak gently, reminding Yuuri of pure warmth and candy that floated through the air. He could barely find the strength to keep his eyes open for any moment longer than a minute or two and it was exhausting every time he was met with failure. Soon, a gentle set of fingers moved along his forehead and his ears, eventually enabling him to open his eyes out of curiosity. As he cracked his eyes open, he saw a set of gentle set of round big eyes looking at him, albeit one of them was a milky white with a set of even brighter set of stars shining in them. He sat himself up, with the aid of the same set of fingers supporting his back. “Yuuri…” She mumbled, her tone low and quiet as she looked at him directly in the eye. Next to him was another familiar face with bright green eyes this time. He glanced at the both of them, a bright smile that stretched from ear to ear appeared on his face the moment he realised that he was in an environment of familiarity. He stretched his arms out wide while letting out a loud and satisfied yawn as if he had the best nap in ages. Still, despite the initial worry that filled the air at first, their muscles and expressions relaxed enough to form content smiles. There were no words shared between the three of them in the room, even in the worst of times. Feeling the simple urge, she rubbed both of their heads affectionately and gently before fishing out bottles of medicine to pour into a wooden bowl for what seemed to be the last time. There was a pale green liquid pooling up at the bottom of the bowl that everyone knew would be bitter and it would heavily pack a punch at the back of one’s throat. They stared at it in horror as they shifted back in their headboards. “Hey-hey there, Bambi… Don’t you think that’s a bit too much?” Yuuri voice out, forcing a smile as he placed both his hands out against his chest as a defence mechanism.

He gulped as she shook her head while scooping some up with her spoon and fed a little bit of it to him. The moment he felt the green liquid hit the back of his tongue, he squirmed and shook his head while cursing rather humorously. “This hurts so much!” He screamed, holding his jaw as tears formed on the edges of his eyes as he slammed a pillow onto his face to comfort himself. Laughter erupted through the air as they watched him suffer from sadistically enthusiastic and delightful glints at the back of their eyes, clearly indulging themselves with suffering. Once the burn of the medicine died out at the back of his tongue, he took heavy breaths and began to gulp down nothing but water. “Damn… You guys are absolutely terrible at everything you guys do to me,” he cursed, wiping away the corners of his saliva-stained lips. They continued to laugh at his expense, their cheeks blazing a pure red as they clapped like a pair of seals. “You’re really a baby, huh, Katsuki?” Yuri snickered when he finally found it within himself to relax his tiny frame. Yuuri shrugged, chuckling as he mustered up the strength to stand up, stretching his hands outwards to the fresh scent of the meadows outside. He held onto the edge of the windows, pushing it upwards with a bright smile on his face, allowing sunlight to pour inside. He pushed up his spectacles before changing out of his shirt and into something that was actually clean and proper. As more laughter continued to fill the air, he fiddled with the collar of his shirt that seemed to be a little bit too tight for him now as well as the plants that lined the edges of the windows. “Bambi, I think I’ll get to work now,” he declared, holding a sapling in his hands as he looked at her in the eye. She stopped laughing, her eyes widening in shock for one second and then in the next second, her expression relaxed to form a quiet grin. She eventually nodded while standing up herself to grab the medicine bottles and bowls that were scattered all around the room to put back into the cabinet. “Okay,” she agreed to it, much to Yuuri’s delight.

“Hey, are you sure?” Yuri asked, his posture straightening upwards as he unfolded his legs to look at him, his gaze softening with concern as they met Yuuri’s. Yuuri returned his concerned gaze with one full of warmth and comfort as he came towards and sat down next to him. He ran a hand along his back, stroking it while chuckling softly to himself. “I’ll be fine, I mean, Otabek gave me antidote, right? I can’t trust a guy like that, why would he lie, anyway?” He reassured him as he pulled away to cross his legs to mime him. The boy bit his lip while turning his head to face him directly. To look at the boy in the eye was something like a challenge, it was looking into the eyes of a soldier -- a seasoned one at his craft. The green in his eyes was deep and dark yet they have a life-like quality to them, which makes them seem absolutely beautiful and enchanting. “I’ll be okay in the long run,” Yuuri spoke with a smile before standing up again, ruffling Yuri’s long blonde locks before walking towards the door towards the counter that mostly faced the summertime sunshine. He glanced back again, a smile appearing on his face as his dark chocolate eyes began to shine and glimmer with pure kindness.

Yuri looked at him, easily amazed by the depth of his gaze that was pure and gentle. Despite their age gap, he was more childlike and innocent than anyone else that he had anyone met who was of his age. Everything about him was not a front, he immediately realised as Yuuri continued to smile when he felt pain spike through his bones and veins, he could not stop him even when he wanted to. “Seriously, Katsuki, please… You should be a little bit more considerate of yourself,” he reminded, closing his eyes as he laid down on the bed with his hands on his chest. Yuuri cocked his head in concern before walking towards him again quickly. He asked for an explanation for what he said multiple times but to no avail. He rubbed the back of his sore neck as he hesitantly watched Yuri snore peacefully as he tossed and turned in his sleep. He smiled sadly before shrugging his shoulders again and walking out of the door, leaving him behind to sleep peacefully in the late morning sunlight.

As Yuuri stepped into the shop with a large wooden broom, a pair of arms immediately wrapped around him and shook him around enthusiastically. “Welcome back, Yuuri!” She smiled brightly as she jumped around. Seeing her bright smile and overly enthusiastic mannerisms again allowed him to heave a sigh of relief. Getting over his initial overwhelming shock and surprise, he turned around to wrap his arms around her as well, allowing her to pull him closer. It felt warm and motherly, even if the hug was absolutely suffocating and strong. They pulled away at the same time with gentle smiles and bright expressions. “Hello, Minako Sensei… It’s been a while, huh. I’m… really sorry I’ve been off the radar for a while…” He apologised, his heart aching slightly as he said it. Minako laughed it off while extending her arms out widely to quickly and briefly hug him again. “Don’t worry about it,” she reassured with a bright smile while messing up his hair again. “It’s not your fault. Anyways, what’s more, important to me is that you’re back here again, safe and okay,” she said while placing some more of the newer herbs by the edge of the counter to fill up some of the empty space. Upon hearing that, it gave him immense amounts of peace and joy to feel so relaxed and happy with the people he knew so well again, especially after so long. She nodded and leant against the edge of the counter, crossing her arms and tapping her feet to her own humming as she tilted her head up towards the ceiling as she thought of the right things to say at the moment.

“Hey, Yuuri, has anyone told you about our most recent customer?” She asked, looking at the tip of her fingers inquisitively. He jerked his head up from the labels of the medicine jar with widened eyes in an instant. He shook his head. “Huh, I thought someone would have snitched by now. Anyways, listen, there’s this hot foreign-looking guy with an accent and he came here asking for weird things I haven’t even heard of and he asked for you. At the time, I had no clue you were back so I just told him that you’re out and he gave me this glare that’s honestly kind of attractive in an odd way but scary and rude… Anyways, I just thought that I should let you know…” She explained, her expression unchanging as she lifted herself to sit atop of the counter surface. He gulped, the apples of his cheeks becoming as red as the blood that ran through his veins after hearing what she told him; he bit his lip; his body began to shiver and sweat as he held onto the edge of the counter so tightly that his knuckles turned a bright white colour. He forced himself to stand up straight, to look at his teacher with nonchalance and indifference. Not to say that he had failed miserably, but she got the hint and leant in closer while stroking the base of her chin, furrowing her eyebrows as she peered into his soul deeply, hoping to see the truth but found none surprisingly. He forced a smile to reassure her paranoid heart as he gestured her away gently. “I don’t know what’s tackier: your shirt (fashion sense) or your act. Do you really know him, Yuuri?” She asked, stepping away to give him some room to breathe as his face quickly resembled a tomato.

“Well… Does he have blue eyes? You know… the kind that looks like the sky?” Yuuri asked, his voice cracking as he continued to look at her. She looked at him and began to laugh heartily but for a far shorter period than before. Slowly, she nodded with a dreamy gaze, as if she was being reminiscent of the men she used to date, how a couple of them used to have radiant blue eyes that were nothing short of a celestial beauty. Maybe she was just dreaming again. She snapped back to reality to look at him in the eye, resisting the urge to give in after seeing his eyes practically demand for an answer. His expression and posture quickly tensed up: his lips formed a taut line on his face, his eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. Biting her lip, she sighed and got off the counter to turn and face him directly. “Yes, he does. He has really beautiful ones too,” she sighed, glancing at her fingernails, unable to understand where he was coming from. He widened his eyes, gasping helplessly as he shook his head while placing his hands on his throbbing temples. He held back his cries for help before nodding in acknowledgement, choosing to act like everything was okay before thanking her. He managed to fake a genuine smile again, albeit the only failure it has was that it couldn’t fully conceal his genuine fears that bubbled in the pits of his stomach. She returned his smile with one of her own before leaving him be, like how he wanted in the meantime, especially since his headache and spun in circles. He forced a smile as he served the next customer who came to ask for strange herbs that he was familiar with.

After serving that customer, he felt right at home first and foremost.

* * *

“Yeah, just drop me off here,” Yuri told the man quickly and frankly, pointing towards a certain area. With that, the horseman pulled onto the ropes, forcing the group of horses to eventually stop. The horseman glanced back at the young boy as if to ask for confirmation through plain and simple eye contact. “Are you sure? It’s so late,” the horseman asked with a worried and anxious expression. The young boy held onto his coat and pulled it closer along his shivering and sluggish frame. After regaining his consciousness, he reached down into his pocket to fish out a small bag of coins to toss it over towards him. He stood up, rubbing the crown of his head as he glanced over at the horseman’s deep, dark and black eyes. “Will you wait for me here, Phichit?” He asked, his green eyes softening with anxiety as he held onto the edge of the door, gulping with cold sweat dripping down the sides of his face. Phichit noticed the change in tone of his expression, voice, as well as words and he, grinned gently, tipping his long hat at him to answer his question. “You paid me enough, I’ll hide in the forest over there,” he informed him, pointing towards the forest right in front of him. Yuri nodded. He felt his heart palpitate, it throbbed and it lept to the back of his throat. White noise drowned the sound of his heartbeat at the back of his ears as he leapt from the side of the carriage and landed on the pebbles. He paced towards the horseman to look at him again as if it was the last time that they would see each other.

“Remember, Yuri. That forest over there!” He repeated before waving goodbye with the horses riding off into the distance. The boy nodded, letting out a huff as he straightened his posture to look at the fading silhouette of a man with his three horses. “Midnight, huh?” He asked himself as he stood in the middle of the road, lost and helpless as he glanced around, hoping for a sign of life to grace him with its presence. For some reason, at this time especially, all life would seem dead -- there was not a single sound to be heard, neither was there any striking silhouette to appear out of nowhere to ambush him. He held onto the edges of his coat as he walked turned back to walk forward, following his instincts as closely as he could to find that man who was meant to meet him out here. “Altin?” He called out, his voice meek and soft as he gritted his teeth to stop their shivering. Lifting his head upwards, the moonlight illuminated his pale skin, giving him a graceful and somewhat angelic glow. He stared at it for a little while, surprised that it was not as difficult to make eye contact with it for long periods of time as he had thought, unlike the bright sun at noon. He walked around in small circles aimlessly, fully aware that he was vulnerable to anything out in the open near the border. He clenched his fist not so much out of anger or irritation but it seemed natural to him, after all, he could not dish out a better word for the emotions that brewed inside of him constantly.

_Fear._

“Altin!” He barked at the top of his lungs, causing multiple smaller birds to fly away into oblivion, clearly shocked by the sudden outburst of pure anger. He clenched his fist and grunted as he threw it into the air recklessly and aimlessly as he felt anger replace the fear that bubbled in him. He seemed to act like a restrained wild animal on steroids; his eyes, gaze and mannerisms, albeit they resembled those of an unintelligible animal, revealed his kaleidoscope of emotions to those who saw him. He gulped his fears down when he heard of a ruffle in the bushes out of the corner of an earshot. He bit his lip, forcing himself to be silent as he stared at the source of the ruffle inquisitively and awkwardly. He bent down, his gaze facing forward after assessing as best as he could that it was safe enough to move forward without hesitation. What a joke, he thought as he inched towards it as it ruffled more and more with each step he took. He froze when he was about an arm’s length away, cautionary measure, he guessed.

The cold air blew through the locks of his hair as the darkness stood before him, with a light-hearted grin to gesture him to come close, to welcome him. He took a hesitant step forward the very moment the ruffling within the bush stopped. Rather innocently, he reached his hand into a gap of the bush, half-heartedly hoping to get an answer to the question his mind had been plaguing him for the whole time. “What are you?” He asked in a harsh whisper with a sigh as he saw a glimmer of light shining through the gaps of the bush. He gasped, jerking his hand away with his body with heavy breaths but he should have run away when a hand grabbed onto his wrist with an iron grip and pulled him back to the bush quicker and more forceful than before. The moment he was close enough, the true source of the ruffles showed itself.

“What am I? I’m Altin… The man you were looking for,” the familiar voice answered. He remembered that the man’s signature voice was calm, slow and articulate but this time, it was tinged with a little more fear. He stared at him, his deep hazel brown eyes a stark contrast to Yuri’s green ones. To him, it was quite pretty. Otabek held onto his hand as he pulled himself up. Yuri looked at him with a relieved smile on his face as he shook off the man’s iron grip on his wrist. “Sorry for the shock, just had to make sure that it was really you… Anything can happen out here, so well… Sorry about that,” he apologised awkwardly while rubbing the back of his neck. He understood -- somehow -- and nodded his head while folding his arms subconsciously. Otabek stretched his arms out wide, relieving muscle aches he had from hiding like that for so long. Yuri stared at him, with his hands dipped into the depths of his pockets as he complained about the burning pains in his body in a calm manner that made him seem rather humorous. “Hey look, we’re already here so let’s do it,” he mentioned, snapping the man back into reality. He laughed and grabbed a lighter and a medium sized stick. He ignited the tip of it, causing a little spark of a flame to light up. It was a pale yellow glow, it emanated a bright light that was barely warm but it gave them enough light to see the way forward. With quiet reaffirming nods, they moved forward towards the castle.

“This way,” Otabek said briefly, pushing past large trees and thick leaves to the side. Yuri nodded in agreement, biting his lower lip to prevent himself from speaking too much to provoke him. He could pin him down to a tree and choke him with a few leaves if he wanted to, he thought as he tried to keep up with his pace. He extended his footsteps to follow behind him, to follow the yellow glow. The moment the sound of leaves folding and crunching stopped, he came to a screeching halt at that. Lifting his head up, he squinted his eyes to see the moon hanging above the sharpest point of the castle. Otabek stared at it in pure wonder, much like how Yuri did but he did it with death gleaming on the surface of his eyes. “Let’s go,” he commanded, his voice deep with irritation and anger as he took in a deep breath, taking in all of the humidity and dirt of the cold air that surrounded them. Again, Yuri nodded, holding onto the edges of his coat while his green eyes trained to focus on the yellow flame that glowed calmly and brightly in front of him.

“Hey, anyway, don’t be too scared about this. It’s mostly my fault for dragging you out here on your own so if anything, I’m to blame. I’ll protect you as much as I can,” he told him as frankly as he possibly could, turning his head around briefly. Yuri laughed heartily at this, his cheeks burning a bright red as his eyes twitched upwards to form crescent moons with crow lines. His smile quickly stretched from ear to ear as he kept laughing, pure joy and amusement emanating from his presence. Otabek grabbed a few more sticks and tied them near the top of the larger one to watch the fire grow bigger and become a brighter shade of red. Yuri stared at it in awe, his eyes glimmering as he watched it burn and produce a flame that was more orange and red then its previous yellow form. Other than that, the glow was as beautiful and bright as ever. “Victor hates the colour red… Take note of that if you want to show him your pissy attitude,” he joked before moving forward silently as always.

Yuri chuckled and managed a smirk before letting fear overwhelm him again as he followed the flame in front of him. Otabek held onto the wooden gate and pushed it aside with little to no force. Their eyebrows furrowed closer together on their faces and discontent hums filled the small gap between them. Confused, they hesitantly placed one foot forward again, one step at a time until their bodies were along the path leading up to the castle doors. As their footsteps sunk into the soil, the air gradually slowed down, as if coming to a standstill with each passing second. The unspoken fact and idea that they both shared were creeping up their nerves, sending sharp chills up their spines. They trembled as they approached the door, especially with a flame burning brightly under their names and in Otabek’s hand. With a look of reassurance shared between the both of them, they stepped into the hallway. 

At first glance, they would be able to see the paintings on the walls, paintings of snow demons and ghosts floating around human villages, terrorising and surprising them in horrible ways. Along the way, they had to admire and appreciate the opulent gold decorations that made up the many details of this castle such as along the stair railings; the paintings on the old, round walls were mostly blue, white with bright pops of light lilac; the ceilings were made of magnificent wood structures that intertwined with each other to form an intricate pattern. How stunning, Yuri thought, as he hesitantly followed Otabek. “It’s quite nice…” Yuri remarked quietly to himself as his footsteps grew lighter and easier to control, even without the other man’s response. Quite randomly, Otabek mentioned that the hall was a huge octagon -- that was the best Yuri could have remembered it -- there were seven doors (one side of the hall was a set of stairs at the side) that he could see and it just so happened that the flame would help him see what was beyond all eight of them.

“Damn it! Where could that son of a bitch be? Did he want to surprise me right? What the hell!” Otabek cursed to himself, kicking the door with one foot as his arm while his forehead rested on the surface of his forearm. Yuri gulped and snickered after that as he went forward to slide the stick out of his hand. Atabek's eyes widened in shock as he jerked his body around to see the boy grinning grimly. One hand held the burning stick while the other played with the sides of his golden hair. “Let’s go. I have a bad feeling about all of this,” he explained again, shrugging his shoulders as he gave the stick back again. He shrugged, shaking his head sullenly as he took the flame back. Their sights were set on the stairs at the side leading upwards, seemingly towards a plane of hell. 

“That arse is gonna pay for all of this. It would be so much nicer if he were _here_ in this castle,” he joked spinning around with the fire stick in his hands. Otabek stared at him, bewilderment filled his eyes and it was conveyed in the way he stood before this boy. Yuri noticed and his face flushed a bright red. He laughed and chuckled nervously, attempting to avoid his gaze while apologising profusely. “I mean everything the guy does puts you on edge so… If he really wants to, he could just not give a fuck and not show up,” he explained, his cheeks burning a brighter shade of red at the confession of his thoughts. Otabek widened his eyes, his heart thumping in his chest as he grabbed onto the boy’s hand tighter than the first time and began to sprint out the main entrance. As fear would course through their veins, they had the energy to sprint out the door and towards the forest, two, no, three steps at a time towards their target. They only had one thing on their minds and it was plenty to keep the adrenaline rush going through them without the need for words.

“Altin, throw the fire away, now!” Yuri demanded as he watched the man in front pant heavily like a mad dog. Hesitantly, the man did as he was told and continued to follow the boy’s instructions to the T. They went back to the edge of the border where they met as fast as their legs could carry them. Along the way, words of simple encouragement were flung back and forth, in a cheesy and overly simple way at best. Upon seeing the horse carriage in the distance, Yuri yelled a name at the top of his lungs, “Phichit!” A horse lets out a cry as if to say his name. “This way, C'mon!” Yuri called, his plain gaze making an impact on the man immediately. He went forward and grabbed onto his hand and sprinted at the speed of lightning. When the carriage was in sight, Yuri held onto the side of the horseman’s seat firmly, shaking it slightly, which made the horseman jerk out of his slumber. He looked at the pair in shock as they forced the door open to slip in. Otabek went in first, with Yuri explaining everything with stammers and unintelligible murmurings. “Phichit, please, I am so sorry a-and I’ll pay you ex-extra. But-” Phichit waved him off as if he somehow knew his situation well enough to not need his explanation. He got in an instant, warm and hot fear burning through him as he shut the door next to him. Otabek stared at him, his black eyes reflecting the cocktail of emotions that had been brewing away. The carriage was freezing cold, not only that, it was dusty and crusty but their bodies being so close to each other was enough for him. It looked like he was okay with it so the silence should be enough for Yuri, right?

“Phichit, can you go faster?” Yuri hollered, not without getting a kick in the leg from the man. Just this time, Phichit complied with the boy's request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry for the late "Happy New Year" greeting thing... So this is a little longer than usual but I hope you guys like it! We're slowly advancing to a part of the story that I really like! I feel like this would go on for quite a long time so I hope you guys stick around. I plan on having at least one or two (never more than three) major event(s) per chapter just to keep things going along, okay, so as a writer, I won't get bored writing the story and as readers, you guys won't have to read a "filler" chapter! Enjoy, everyone! :)


	7. Moonlight

This was the night -- this was truly a beautiful night.

 

The man opened the window slowly and delicately, careful in his surprisingly small actions to prevent any eyes from being drawn to him, especially when the moonlight was emphasising his silhouette. He crouched down low, slipping through the gaps to see him in a better light -- in a vulnerable state. Once he had one foot inside, he fastened the cloak tighter around his body, to enshroud his silver being in a pure black shield made of soft fur. He bit his lip, wanting to cause no more of a disturbance than a ruffle in the bush or a twig tapping against the window. There was a rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins as he watched the other man sleep peacefully and calmly as if there was no danger in the world that could defeat or push him down with fear. The man slept rather peacefully and calmly, much to his delight as he wrapped his wings around his calm and relaxed form. Yuuri was snoring quietly and his posture was as still as a dead log; his lips were agape for saliva to leak from the gaps between his lips; he mumbled in his sleep, which Victor thought was pretty adorable and surprising. His wings were strong enough to support him -- he thought -- as his arms pulled the window open again to make his escape. He glanced back, irritated that his dark feathers were scattered on the floor like dust. As rage began to boil in him, he felt a sharp sting in the crook of his neck, forcing him to run away even with a man on his back. Like all of his plans, this went far too well for there not be any consequences on his part. I’m sure something must’ve gone absolutely wrong -- I’m sure of it, he thought as he navigated his way through the thick fog of clouds and the small, pretty stars that dotted the night sky with bright whites and pops of neon every once in a while. 

 

Quite frankly, the longer the man rested on his back, the more time the suspicion within him had to develop into something more than just a lingering doubt. He tossed and turned around while holding onto the hem of the blanket desperately as if clinging to dear life even though the air around him felt hot and heavy on his lungs.He squinted his eyes to see through the fog better as he flew through the sky. Out of his line and field of vision, Yuuri cracked his eyes open to absorb the surroundings and the cold air that embraced him warmly. At the sight of the night sky, his eyes widened significantly, his heart palpitating as he gently held onto the wings of the beast that carried him. Of course, he tried his best not to scream or thrash around on its back but surprisingly, his eyes were reflecting the bright stars in the sky. Hesitantly, he lifted his head out of the thick blanket of feathers to look at the starry night sky with an expression full of awe and wonder. He bit his lip, ducking his head down deeper into the back of his neck where his head was meant to be from the start. “This is what you see…” He mumbled, closing his eyes to smell the fresh, clear air from the sky. He flushed a bright red as he inched a little bit back to wiggle away from the beast’s head. He was afraid; he was petrified when he heard an irritated and bothered groan from the front. Gasping when the beast awoke to look back at him, Yuuri forced himself to close his eyes, to only resort to biting on his lower lip to contain the screams that he so desperately wanted to force out of his system.

“Just a little longer,” Yuuri told himself as he buried his head deeper into the thick blanket of feathers on his back while placing his chin on his forearm, fear escalated in him when he saw the castle flew past them both.

* * *

 

Where am I? What am I doing here? Who did this to me? Those questions ran rampant in the depths of his mind as he rolled around, his body aching and stiff with exhaustion. He felt his toes and the tips of his fingers twitch violently as if to tell him that he was still perfectly alive. Surrounding him was a sea of what seemed like eternal darkness with only one source of light right in front of him. This was definitely one of those things that he could not even begin to wrap his head around. Death… There had to be an answer to this, he was sure of that, at least. Instinctively, he stretched out his hand to hold onto the light that seemed to be in his grasp. An optical illusion? Perhaps not… He held onto it and somehow, his lashes fluttered, signalling to the world around him that his eyes were cracking open to the source of light in front of his face. He glanced at his surroundings, in an instant after his eyes cracked open. A bright white light shone down on him, covering his face in a sea of glaring white. He raised an arm over his eyes, in an effort to help himself calm down. Out of an earshot, there was a faint humming that was off-tune yet he chose to keep his silence until the very end. There was a thick sheet of fabric atop of his toes. It was rather pretty, a sea-foam green with white lines. He bent forward to pull it above his legs to cover his whole body like how it once did. “So… So soft,” he muttered, caring little about the silence he wanted to keep as he buried his head back into the sweat-soaked pillow.

 

With the arm still over his eyes, his mind continued to float around in the pale darkness of his thoughts. This time, it was a little less scary, knowing that at the very least, his heart was still beating and he could still move on his own free will (for now at least). The world around him seemed to be overwhelming, scary and yet, it was free and relaxing. He felt the easy feeling and urge to stretch his arms out as he laid down, a contempt smile spreading across his face while groaning. How long had I been here? He wondered to himself as his eyes constantly fluttered open and closed, toeing along the line of awake and dreaming. “Are you awake yet?” A voice, a calm and relaxing one called out to him, piercing through his thoughts. He jerked upwards, frantic as he glanced from left to right in a matter of seconds, with hopes to find the source of it. Yuuri’s eyes eventually landed on a pair of beautiful blue ones that were familiar, albeit his dreamy and relaxed state. He came towards him, posture relaxed and his smile calm and oddly charming. Nausea found itself towards Yuuri, causing his face to turn mixtures of green and red. It felt like poison running through his very veins all over again, except he knew that there was no antidote to speak of. “What do you want,” he managed the strength to ask despite his ghastly appearance. The man shrugged, cocking his head to the side as if amused and entertained by the question. Nothing too surprising or out of the ordinary just yet, Victor supposed as he looked into his eyes. Yuuri gazed into blank space, his mind’s eye still envisioning a black space where he was able to float freely like a bubble in mid-air. 

 

“I can’t believe I’m dying here… in a place, I don’t know… I haven’t told Yuri- Yuri! What did you do to him!” He demanded, anger replacing nausea in his body as he clenched his fists while glaring at the handsome man who looked at him with a soft gaze. In an instant, he felt almost horrible for yelling at him, especially since he looked so kind and gentle like a fairytale prince or an angel with big white wings that were soft and gentle. Yuuri forced a sigh, shaking his head in disappointment for his actions as he continued to look at Victor with an apologetic glint in his eyes. “I’m sorry…” He mumbled, glancing away while straightening himself while rubbing the side of his head. “It’s just… I’m not feeling too well and I have no idea where I am and-” The man chuckled and placed a finger on top of his lips delicately, signalling him that  _ now _ would be the best time to keep quiet. “There’s no need to apologise. I’m sure you didn't mean it, right?” Victor reassured him, his voice gentle and relaxing to listen to. Yuuri forced a smile and began to sigh heavily, letting out a deep breath, a dash of pink appearing on the apples of his cheeks. He chuckled as if to prevent himself from growing even more embarrassed and insane with each passing minute. He stretched his arms out, choosing to remain as timid and as meek as a mouse for a little while longer since he simply assumed that his life was in danger.

 

“Now, you’re feeling a little bit better right?” Victor asked, ruffling the crown of the man’s raven black hair with a fond smile. Yuuri glanced upwards with a puppy-like light in his eyes, looking at the man with pure innocence and surprise. Yuuri nodded, holding the blanket closer to his chest. “Get up now, then. I want to show you a little something,” he suggested, standing up and extending his hand out. What a prince-like figure… Yuuri thought as he stared in awe. Even in a loose, dark grey sweater, he appeared rather beautiful, like a heavenly dream. Coupled with that was a thick royal blue blazer that matched the colour of his eyes as well as boots secured tightly by ribbons that reached up to his knees. His brown eyes moved along his silhouette, attempting to comprehend all of the tiny details in the midst of his hazy trance. Slowly but surely, he extended his hand out just enough to brush against Victor’s fingertips. Assertively, Victor grabbed Yuuri’s hand while wearing a graceful and pretty smile spreading across his face as he helped him take his first step out of bed. “Come now, let’s go,” Victor mentioned as he leads the way, pulling him along behind him. Yuuri gasped, his eyes widening instantly as he struggled to follow the man. As he was being dragged everywhere like a pet dog, he made some observations that were as clear as day. The walls were dilapidated with gaps in the planks of wood that lined and formed the structure of the building. Unlike most buildings he had been in, it seemed as though the old, broken wood was a dull ash colour naturally. The hallways they walked in were dimly lit by a few candles that emanated a pretty and subtle glow; the hallways they walked in were redolent with caramel candy and sweet strawberries, much to his surprise at the very least.

 

“This is one of those things I own and hide… Kinda cute, huh? I should clean it up soon. I don’t mind having a family -- I’m at that age now,” Victor spoke up, breaking the silence all of a sudden as they stopped in their tracks. He held the door handle with his free hand hesitantly as a million and one thoughts seemed to race through his mind. “What about you? Isn’t this place cute for a family?” He asked for validation, turning his gaze towards the man whose face was now a brilliant shade of red. He shrugged, nodding in agreement, fear striking through his features, rendering them to be tensed and taut. “Yes… It’ll be adorable for a family with a cute dog or a fat cat maybe… I had a dog once… He was adorable; he was cheerful and loved being with people and listening to people’s problems! It- no! He was a sweetheart in general and I love him,” Yuuri rambled, a smile eventually formed on the corners of his lips as happy and relaxed flowers floated around him. He laughed airly, rubbing the back of his head and neck, twirling around obliviously. “Oh! I’m so s-sorry! This house is p-pretty nice!” He stuttered, flustered as his heart began palpitating, banging in his chest as a peculiarly strong sense of anxiety flooded his train of thoughts. With a hearty laugh, Victor opened the door with a warm smile and ushered the other inside gently with a “kind” aura surrounding him. All of a sudden, a panic attack began to strike Yuuri, causing him to be stiff and his fingers to curl. He began to breathe heavily, his heart palpitating and cold sweat began to drip down his throbbing temples.

 

“Wait! What are you doing?” Yuuri demanded as a strong force pushed him forward into the empty room and locking the door shut. Realising the situation through the fog of hesitation and anxiety, Yuuri shot up from his position to bang the other side of the door, shouting for help with all of his might. “You’re going to regret this! All of it!” Yuuri yelled, slamming his fists against the doors so hard until his fingers were laced and sprinkled with splinters and the wood on the doors began to crack and crumble gradually under his fists. Warm tears streamed down his face as confusion began to overwhelm him. The sides of his hands felt warm and numb as small, sharp pains distracted him constantly. “Hey! Hey! Hey!” He yelled, hitting the door again desperately and as a last resort as he felt the other side of the door was empty and cold as if there was no living life on the other side. He knew that at least. He pressed his back against the other side of the door, hugging his knees as he rocked back and forth simply to comfort himself as he wept silently.

 

* * *

 

 

“Otabek!” Yuri cried, leaping out of the side of the carriage like a thick, quick gust of wind. “Otabek, hurry up!” He demanded as the man crept out from the carriage door, his upper eyelids on the verge of closing as his limbs were trembling and shaking. Once his feet were on the ground, he clenched his fists and bit down on his lower jaw as he followed after the boy with seemingly lightning speed. Impressed, Yuri managed a somewhat cocky smirk before running forward towards the entrance of the clinic. It was rather surprising to see that the lights were still illuminated, causing the building to stand out against the dark navy sky. Yuri fished out a key and began to unlock the door, a task that was done in a matter of seconds. The moment they stepped foot into the clinic, their eyes widened to see the emptiness of the reception. “Let’s hurry,” he continued, glancing back at the man with a worried gaze in his eyes as he dashed up the stairs. His footsteps were quick and hurried as he went from door to door, forcing each one of them open, only to be met with mounting frustration and anxiety as the rooms were nothing but furniture and bottles of medicine. “Where is he? Yuuri! Katsuki! Where the hell are you?” He cupped his hands over his mouth to slightly amplify his voice. He circled around the linear second floor, only to feel a heavy weight crush his heart. Like the moonlight that flowed into the hallway, his voice was beginning to fade.

 

Otabek folded his arms and hesitantly followed behind him, his black eyes sharpening to look at everything like an eagle, rather than giving it a quick glance. That was one of the things that he had learnt from Victor -- never underestimate the details. Everything had their own element to it, so giving it a real look was absolutely crucial in understanding it inside out. He took in a deep breath as he entered the room that was the darkest of the lot. Furrowing his eyebrows, he pulled the door open some more to get a better glimpse of what laid ahead of him. Seeing it being enshrouded by darkness prompted him to fiddle with the switch at the side of the door frame but to no avail. “How odd,” he remarked as he took a step inside, brushing away the boy’s desperate pleas and shouting that began to be incomprehensible. “Yuri, you might want to see this… I think I know where to find your friend,” Otabek spoke, his accented articulation clear and slower than usual. Yuri stopped his wailing, his heart still thumping in his chest as he dashed towards the room where the man stood rather silently. Otabek walked forward into the room when he sensed his brooding presence behind him.

 

They inched forward, their footsteps slow and hesitant as they explored the depths of the dark room. “What’re you looking at?” The boy asked, hesitant in his speech as he folded his arms, following behind the man quietly. Otabek hummed, acknowledging the boy behind him as he examined the details of the small-time doctor’s room. He gently flipped over books and stared at the medicines and herbs inside the jars and bottles. In a way, all of this was interesting. Looking at someone else’s property let him see through his personality, his morality and beliefs. Unlike its usual neat arrangement, the room was in complete disarray: the blankets were strewn all over the bed and the floor, the bottles and jars were toppled over on their sides as if blown over by a strong gust of wind and the window was wide open, allowing moonlight to pour inside to expose its vulnerabilities. Otabek huffed, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he lifted his head up, staring at the moon in front of him. The light created contour lines along the sharp points of his face and it created a stark contrast between his black hair, eyes and pale caramel toned skin. Yuri looked at him in awe, his jaw dropping slightly before quickly regaining his composure to talk to him again, but with shy and awkward murmurs. “You see… Victor… Likes to surprise people and in the process… He irritates the living fuck out of me… Do you understand… Yuri Plisetsky?” He asked, burying his hands deeper into his pockets as he spoke, irritation and failure finding their way into his psychological state and heart. Before he could continue, his eyes and chest felt hotter and tighter than usual; he clenched his fists and covered his eyes with them. He shook and trembled, feeling a sense of defeat crush him, overwhelm him with pessimism and negative vibes. 

 

Yuri shrugged sullenly, walking towards him and placed his hand on his shoulder, almost instantly snapping him out of his self-induced trance. Yuri forced him to turn around, making him look at him in the eye. “You’re helping me, all right? Don’t get downer than me,” he joked, clearly aware of the consequences should their actions fail miserably. Sighing, both men took their leaves in silent with the wind, unsure of what to do next. “Phichit must’ve left by now,” Yuri said as he walked down the stairs. Otabek nodded in agreement, his gaze empty and apathetic as he looked at nothing but his boots that were coated with mud and small pebbles. When they stepped out of the clinic, they took in the fresh air, relaxed and stressed by the cold and dry forest air, which was a stark contrast to the hot and humid air everywhere else in the area. After several minutes, they unconsciously decided to take a stroll around the building, which was mostly a plain white building with a couple of pretty, yellowed windows. Even when the lights were off, it still appeared rather warm and comfortable like a cabin for winter vacation. “Going back?” Yuri asked, cocking his head while standing by the edge of the forest. Laughing cynically, Otabek placed his hands on his waist as he nodded and heaved a quick sigh of relief. In an instant, his eyes lit up, reflecting the night sky that hung above them. He stretched his arms and snapped his fingers, his cheeks forming a tender red hue as his eyes eventually met Yuri’s.

 

“Let’s go to my place, Yuri! I want to show you something to pass the time!” He delightfully suggested as he held onto the boy’s hand and began to run as quickly as his feet could carry him. “Damn, Otabek, you’re a real bad actor,” Yuri remarked to himself as he tried to keep up with him without panting like an exhausted dog too much.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while LOL SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG LOL
> 
> I have nothing to say now so I'll just see you guys whenever I update again... By the way, I read BL/Yaoi manga now so if any of you guys know anything good, tell me in the comments below. Thanks much! See you guys again for another time byes byes byes byes!


	8. Otabek's Old Home

 

The both of them ended their footsteps at a dilapidated home. Yuri glanced upwards, squinting his eyes to ensure that there were no other details that he was missing out on. When he eventually accepted that there were none left to be either seen or acknowledged, he frowned and turned to Otabek with his cheeks puffed and face flushed a bright red. The sight of a house where the wood was peeling off the walls like old paint, where ivies with small yellow flowers covered the structure like slime as well as the fact that the chimney was coughing out thick plumes of grey smoke that plunged the roof into supposedly temporary darkness. “Y-you live here?” Yuri managed to force himself to mumble as he gazed upwards in disbelief, heart pounding in worry as he studied the home further. At that, Otabek began to laugh heartily, finding his shock to be nothing but pure joy and entertaining to see. He hasn't seen a reaction like that in a long time. He shrugged his shoulders, holding back an obvious chuckle as he took in a deep breath, reminiscing about the good old days where he used to run around in the house, smiling and laughing joyfully. He wiped away any tears in his eyes with the side of his finger and walked forward, closing the distance between the duo and the front door.

 

“Is this… Okay for you? I mean we’re just-just- I mean we’re not super close or anything so this could be fucking awkward…” Yurio stuttered, his reddened face averted and focused on the ground. The green in his eyes softened when he saw Otabek’s expression tense up in worry and angst as he looked at the door. It seemed to be mocking him, like a past memory taunting him or a tiger glaring at prey that ran away into the night. “You worry a lot for a kid, you know that? I won’t worry too much, since my family or anyone that I know of, stays here… I think…” He trailed off, glancing down at the ground beneath him absent-mindedly. He wiped away any trace of tears on his cheek and face before digging into his pocket and fishing out a small, leather pouch that fit perfectly into the palm of his hand. Otabek opened the bag and grabbed a small, rusty key. Immediately after that, he placed it into the keyhole with intricate designs on it. He turned it to the left, causing a “click” sound to radiate into the air, causing Yurio to jump, his eyes widening and his skin whitening to a sickly, ghostly way. “Well, anyone that I know of personally -- even by name -- doesn’t stay here but I heard that there have been a couple of noises in here from kids at the marketplace lately. Figured we should check it out since… You know… Looking for Nikiforov…” Otabek explained with a wry smile before holding the door handle and pushing it back to allow what was left of the moonlight to come streaming in. Upon taking several steps into the living room, they shared the mutual feeling of surprise to see the furniture were generally quite clean and free of thick spider webs. The cheap, tacky floral fabric that covered thick sofas and chairs still retained their bright, vibrant colours. The neon green curtains were still the same shade of green as it once was, according to Otabek and it let whatever silver moonlight flow in appear green -- a neon green at that.

 

“Well, to make this simple, the basement’s down there and the balcony is up this staircase. This is a pretty badly designed house… Still, life in here’s pretty sweet, pretty and cute,” Otabek shrugged, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face as he spoke fondly of the house he once called home. His black eyes softened and a deep smile appeared on his features.

 

“Katsuki! Katsuki, you suck!” Yurio yelled, snapping Otabek out of his trance. Otabek jerked his head to glare at him playfully before slapping his shoulder blade roughly. He folded his arms and kept the key in the pouch and back into his pocket neatly without any further disputes. “He doesn't. He’s a nice person. Now, come on, let’s explore a little bit,” Otabek suggested, pulling on the boy’s hand and dragging him forward with him. As Yurio began to take steps forward to follow behind, a voice shouted from the side of the basement, commanding them to stop. They widened their eyes, its familiarity hitting their heads like an arrow. “Wait-wait shit, I didn’t mean this… Otabek, I’m serious!” He begged, his eyes dripping with worry and anxiety as he looked at Otabek for forgiveness, only to be laughed off mildly and gently. Ruffling his hair, the man glanced around, hoping to locate the source of the voice as quickly as possible without worry. No worries, Otabek would constantly reassure Yurio as he ruffled his hair while turning back. His fingers were combing through his blonde locks, appreciating its smoothness and the length on a superficial level. “Hey, Yuri! Where you at?” Otabek shouted back, rather half-heartedly as his eyes were full of feigned innocence. This had to be some sort of joke, they told themselves regularly as they made their way towards a staircase leading downwards towards what they deem to be the source of the repeated shoutings. It took a little longer than usual so something in their heads told them it was perfectly fine to go downstairs. “Yuri… Katsuki…” Yurio sang repeatedly in a childish way and it was horribly off-pitch and off-key as well. Otabek stifled in an amused laugh each time as he went down the stairs at his usual pace, which was as fast as a tortoise could ever possibly be. 

 

“I-I’m here… Please be softer,” a soft, timid and delicate voice begged through a door in front of the both of them. They gasped and nodded to themselves while providing each other with reassuring and reaffirming looks of confirmation as they dashed forward towards the door beneath the steps. Once the door was open, they were greeted by a long linear hallway with two doors, one on each side. Yurio closed the door behind him and kept up with Otabek as he instinctively ran towards the door at the end. “Wait up!” Yurio demanded, his voice loud and shrill. However, his words seemed to fly past Otabek’s ears as he fished out the same key and unlocked the door in front of him, revealing a dark room with messy furniture that seemed to be quite modern and simply well coordinated in general. Otabek’s eyes widened at the sight in front of him -- Yuuri rocking himself to sleep in one corner of the room. He called for Yurio and they hurried towards Yuuri with urgency providing their footsteps with a spring and bounce. “Yuuri! Hey, hey… Are you okay?” Otabek asked, his heart palpitating with worry as he stroked the side of his head, hopefully getting him to look up from the depths of his knees. Tears rolled down his eyes, warm tears scalding the sides of his face shook and trembled in anxiety. “Katsuki. You are okay. You’re safe with us, all right?” Yurio smiled, nodding intently as he looked at his brown eyes calmly. Yuuri relaxed his posture and let his legs fall flat on the floor; he let his arms hand freely; his fingers were interlaced with theirs’ as they helped him upwards and onto the bed opposite the room. Yuuri sat on it hesitantly, as if the wood beneath him would snap in half. Tears continued to stream down his eyes as his cheeks burned a bright, hot red. 

 

“I-I’m going to die here! V-Victor… He wants to kill me, right? Right? That has to be the only way, I-I… I’m dead! I guess that’s fine, I mean…” Yuuri muttered, his eyes brimming with tears again as he looked away from the both of them. Their gazes were bright and full of worry as they sat next to him and looked at him in the eye as they spoke to him. “I’ll lock the door,” Otabek mentioned as he got up and went towards the door, seemingly to ignore Yuuri’s desperate pleas. “It’ll give you time to relax, plus, we don’t want Nikiforov to come here and screw you over again… That ain’t right,” he said, his voice warm and delicate as he went to the door and locked it without hesitation and obstacle in his plan. He folded his arms and walked towards him again, key in hand as he sat down next to him. This time, his arms were around Yuuri, pulling him closer towards him while stroking his back to provide him with a deeper and stronger sense of comfort that allowed Yuuri to heave a sigh of relief. “No one can hurt you here… Especially since I have the key and I know how to escape,” Otabek whispered, his voice soft and strict. He let Yuuri fall away, fall onto the boy’s shoulders rather awkwardly and suddenly as all colour in his face faded to greys from crying and feeling anxious the whole time. The two intruders glanced to the side and saw that the small light that seeped through the gaps of the wood was covered up by something or someone. 

 

“Stay quiet, you two… I want the both of you to hide now,” Yuuri hissed as his gaze darkened. His features were drowned in the sickly shade of yellow of his skin. They gulped and did as he was told and crawled under the bed immediately -- no questions asked. “I’ll “tell” you when to get out…” Yuuri articulated, his voice dry and thick with dehydration and exhaustion. Otabek gulped and handed over the key to Yuuri before he ducked back under the darkness of the bed frame, huddling next to some kid for reassurance as he saw Yuuri’s silhouette fade away. “Damn it… Nikiforov…” Otabek cursed as he folded his arms and planted his chin on his forearm while watching Yuuri. They stayed there for as long as they were told to. Yuuri was relieved at that. He stuck the key into the lock, his fingers stable and in control of their actions, albeit a little more numb than unusual. He placed the key on the floor and kicked it forcefully, sending it to slide, skate and skid across the floor to hit one of them in the nose. It was as if his heart had stopped beating in his eardrums, his stomach stopped churning and he felt fine -- like he was greeting the very first customer of the day -- a process he had done so many times before. “Hello, Victor,” he said ominously as he stared into the bright, vibrant blue eyes of the man standing in front of him, a plate of food in his hands, more specifically, a plate of Chinese-style fried rice with pork chops and a side of bright, ripe oranges that were dripping with juice. Victor returned Yuuri’s greetings with one of his own as he handed the plate of food to him. 

 

“Rested well?” Victor asked, his smile charming and pleasant as usual.

 

“Good. I rested well, Victor. Oh! Uh… I should ask about you though but I guess I can wait a little longer to ask since I won’t get a reply either way,” he joked, stretching his arms wide as he prepared himself to close the door if not for the man’s pointed heel blocking the door from being closed shut. Victor stared at Yuuri, who was absolutely confused and shocked to do anything else other than forced the door shut with all the might he had left in his body.

 

“What is that supposed to mean?” Victor growled, his voice silent and scary. Yuuri giggled and shrugged his shoulders.

 

“Guess I was a little woozy. But I’m okay now… See you soon. Thank you for the meal!” Yuuri beamed before closing the door again gently. He stormed towards his bed and sat on it, crossing his legs on the mattress as he picked up the fork and spoon to gobble down on his meal like a mad dog. He muttered curses to himself as he bent down to look at the both of them with a raging inferno burning in his eyes. They crept out and dashed towards the door to see the man was still there, with his arms folded and his foot was tapping on the floor. “Just what are you thinking of, Katsuki?” Yurio demanded, his green eyes burning with rage as he glared at Yuuri. Yuuri laughed and stood up, leaving behind an oily mess on the plate as he went over to the man to return it to him. After exchanging a few greetings, the three of the locked the door and sat on the bed silently. “Victor knows that the both of you are here but what he doesn’t know is my intentions. He wants me to be a plaything. But, I will give him hell before I really give myself up. That’s part of the game, right, Otabek? The key is entertainment and he loves chasing after the things he can never have, am I wrong?” Yuuri asked, his eyebrows arched. Otabek nodded in confirmation, admiring how after all of that, Yuuri managed to dry up his tears and keep that sparkle in his eyes as he spoke to the both of them. 

 

“I want to burn him. Plus, this time, we know where he is. Let’s go for it, the three of us!” Yuuri spoke, his smile brightening as he spoke like that, surprising everyone in the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I swear... If I don't update in a long time, just know that it's probably because of school but I am trying... Anyways, sorry it took so long but I hope you guys still enjoyed the short update, nevertheless! By the way, sorry if this story is shit and the ending of this chapter is sudden, I have no idea where the story is going but I do know that it's according to the silly little plan I had in my head while working on it.
> 
> Well, thanks much for reading! Have a good day ahead!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks much for reading! Sorry if this is pretty bad but I'm going to finish this story for Victuuri!


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